Needing Them
by Baby Porcupine-Cute but DEADLY
Summary: Sequel to Missing Him. 'I'm freaking out. What's wrong with me? Am I hurting my friends? Or is someone else doing something? I have no idea… My friends hate me. My sister hates me. My mom… I don't even know what she's thinking. Kim is probably the only person that thinks I'm still innocent. Is this going to end… ever? '
1. Encountering An Old Enemy

**Ok, here is the (hopefully) long awaited sequel to ****_Missing Him_****! I'm really kinda scared about how I did this... if you like it, review... please... oh, and there's gonna be some mild cussing in this one, just thought i'd say it. The summary is crappy, I know.*sweat drop* Please don't rub it in my face (*cough*Volk*cough*). **

* * *

_Jack's POV_

"You want me to _what?"_

"One of the doctors suggested it. She said it would help you if you were able to express your feelings about the kidnapping, it would help you," Mom says

"Help me with what?!" I protest.

"Any mental scarring that Kiara might have done."

"Mom, I'm fine. Yeah, she said some stuff that went to my head a little, but I'm over it! I don't need a diary!"

"It's not a diary, it's a journal, and it's either this or going to see a psychologist."

"Hmm…" I say, pretending to think. "Visiting a shrink or keeping a diary… how about neither?"

She stares at me.

I stare at her.

She stares at me some more.

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "I'm really sorry Mom, I ran into Carson earlier today, and he got me in a really bad mood."

"Carson… that boy who was at the dojo and left before you joined?"

"Yeah. But do I seriously have to do this?"

"Please, Jack. I worry about you, and your sister. I just want the best for you two."

"…"

"You don't even have to write 'Dear Journal' or anything, just the date and time."

"…fine."

Mom beams, and I smile a little. "Ok! Well, I found these journals up in the attic earlier today when I was looking for a blank notebook that you could use. They belonged to your grandfather, and he wrote quite a bit in them when he was younger, but eventually he just grew out of it. I think you'd be interested in them, and I found a blank one underneath it all."

She picks up an old light brown book off of a stack of similar ones from the table (which I somehow didn't notice until now). The back cover wraps around to the front cover and attaches to it with a little magnet. I raise an eyebrow as she hands it to me. She shrugs.

"I knew you'd say yes eventually. Now, I want you to write in it at least once a day."

"Ok," I say, picking up the books from the table and feeling a bit eager to read what's inside the books. I walk upstairs to my room to find Kiara lying on my bed. I stand there for a second, blinking, before asking, "Why are you in here?"

She looks over at me with a sad face on, and concern fills me. "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault you have to keep a diary," she says quietly. I sigh, ignoring the spark of annoyance I felt at her calling my journal a diary. I set Grandpa's books on my computer desk and walk over to my bed, sitting down next to her. She sits up and puts her head on my shoulder.

"Kiara, how many times have I told you that it's not your fault?" I ask softly. Every once and a while she puts herself down about what happened while I was Ty's captive.

"A lot," she replies.

"Exactly, and I'll say it again; it's not your fault. Ty raised you to believe that Mom and I were the bad guys. No one's blaming you for that."

"I know, but still…"

"Kiara." I turn to look at my twin sister. "It's. Not. Your. Fault."

She smiles. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem. Now, get out of my room, please. I have to write stuff." She rolls her eyes and smiles, getting up and walking out. When she closes the door, I go over and walk to my computer desk, where I had placed my new journal before.

_"I like to move it, move it._

_I like to move it, move it._

_I like to move it, move it._

_Yeah like to, MOVE IT!"_

I chuckle at the ringtone that Jerry had set for himself on my phone and answer his call. "Hey, Jerry."

"WOOOO, man, you gotta get down to the dojo and see Eddie and I's totally swag project!"

"Project? What project?" I was never informed of a project, and I begin to mildly panic.

"The one for chemistry. You know, Mrs. Hethla's class?"

"Oh, that one. Dude, that was due on Friday."

"Right… and what's today?"

"Thursday."

"So what's the problem?"

"It was due _last_ Friday."

"Oops… oh well, the important thing is that it's finally done. Now get over here, man!"

I chuckle. "Alright, I'm on my way, I just gotta take care of something first." He says okay and hangs up, and I pick up the empty journal. I grab a pencil and start to write.

_March 12, 2013_ _12:14 P.M._

_Ok, well Mom wanted me to start writing in this, so… yeah. Kiara said stuff that… hurt, to be honest. Especially the comments about how Dad deserved to die. I had to keep telling myself that she didn't mean it. It's still kind of eating at me now, actually. I'll never forget the horrible things she said, but she's my sister. I won't let it get in the way of me getting closer to her, like a brother and sister should._

I close the journal and put the pencil down, feeling as if a slight weight had been lifted off my chest. _'Huh. I guess writing in this thing will help' _I think, as I grab my skateboard and helmet and head downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Mom asks from her position on the couch. She's watching _White Collar _with Kiara, and I'm tempted to go over and join them; I love cop shows.

"Jerry wants me to go check something out at the dojo," I reply, putting on my helmet and clipping the strap under my chin.

"Alright, have fun!" "See ya later."

"Bye, guys." I walk out of the house and skateboard to the mall. The whole journey there, I had this strange feeling that I was being watched.

I finally arrive at the dojo. In the middle of the mats is a really weird looking… thing. The only word that I can use to describe it is a 'robot'. Well, whatever it is, it looks really bad. And by bad, I mean that it looks like it could collapse and breaks into thousands of pieces any second. It has a remotely humanoid structure, and right in the middle of the 'chest', running on a little wheel, is—

"A mouse?"

But no one is in the dojo to answer my question; there's no sign of Jerry or Eddie anywhere. I use the opportunity to look at the robot some more. I walk around it in a wide circle (making sure to keep my distance). It appeared to run off of the power of the mouse running on the little wheel.

_'I wonder what it does.'_

Eventually giving up on trying to figure out what the strange contraption was built for (and what it has to do with chemistry), I decide to go and see if Eddie and Jerry are in the locker rooms.

_'Not in here.' _I think, as I look around the empty locker room. Suddenly, the sound of a big _BANG!_ is heard reverberating around the room, amplified by the metal of the lockers. I run back into the main training room to see that somebody had slashed the 'robot' in two, leaving two separate pieces lying on the floor. As I watch, the two separate pieces crumble even further.

_'Who the heck did this?!' _I think, just as Eddie and Jerry come running in through the front door. The former is holding a falafel ball in his hand.

"Jack, what the heck?!" Eddie cries, walking over to the remains of the 'robot' and kneeling down next to it as Jerry starts yelling at me in rapid Spanish.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a sec. I did _not _do this!" I say in protest, holding up my hands.

"Who else would have done it?" Eddie growls, turning on me. I blink; I've never seen my chubby, dark-skinned friend look so angry before.

"Do you really think I would destroy you guys' project? What could I possibly gain from doing that?!" I turn to the tall, ranting Latino boy who is still going on in Spanish and seems to be looking for something. "And Jerry, would you PLEASE speak _English_?!"

He glares at me and starts cussing…

…a lot.

I blink. "Ok, fine, Spanish is preferable."

He nods and goes back to looking for whatever, resuming the rapid-fire Spanish. At least this time I have an idea of what he's saying.

I turn my attention back to Eddie, who's shaking his head. "That dude at Falafel Phil's was talking about it… I didn't believe him at first, but…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What 'dude at Falafel Phil's'?"

Eddie shrugs. "I dunno. I thought he was Ty at first, but then I remembered that Ty is in jail. Jerry and I were just talking about our robot when he comes up to us and he's goes 'Do you mean the robot that Jack over there just destroyed?' and Jerry and I were like 'what!' and we run over here and see you. End of story."

"I didn't do it! Why won't you believe me? Fine. Go ask Joan if you can look at her security footage."

"Fine!"

"Si usted es la persona que lo hizo ..." Jerry says in a threatening tone of voice.

* * *

"Well, looks like you two owe Mr. Kicky Kicky Chop Chop an apology," Joan announces as the black and white video on her computer screen ends.

"Whoa… sorry, man, no hard feelings?" Jerry says apologetically.

"Yeah, Jack, I'm really sorry," Eddie adds in.

"Hey, don't worry about it…" I say distractedly. The figure in the video, a tall dark haired man, had come into the dojo and quickly kicked the robot in the lower torso, then quickly ran out again and headed towards Falafel Phil's. But one thing is eating at me:

Why does this man look so familiar?

"Joan, could you play that back again?" I ask her. She nods and replays the video (not like there was any need because it was on a loop), and I study it intently. I stop it in the spilt second that it takes the man to turn around to go back outside, and gasp.

It's Greg.

As in Greg Griffith.

After the whole kidnapping fiasco two months ago, I kind of just forgot about Greg. I didn't think I would ever see him again. But now…

"Do you know this guy, Jack?" Joan asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. Eddie and Jerry had exited the room at some point without me noticing. **(1)**

"Uhhh…"

"Yeah, he doesn't look like anyone I recognize, either," she says, nodding as she walks over to the door and opens it. "Well, see ya later!"

I walk out of the room, bewildered and admittedly a little scared.

* * *

_?'s POV_

_"I didn't do it! Why won't you believe me? Fine. Go ask Joan if you can look at her security footage."_

"DAMMIT!" I snarl, slamming my fist on the table as I watch the three teenagers walk out of their dojo. "I forgot about the damn security cameras!"

_"Don't break my T.V., big bro," _I hear my brother's voice laugh over the phone.

"I didn't hit the T.V.," I grumble.

_"So, what are you gonna do now? And make it quick because I only have two minutes left."_

"I don't know! This was supposed to build some distrust between them!"

_"Hmm… how about trying the smart one, Milton? He's got the most logical mind out of all of them, so you could use that to your advantage."_

"And WHAT, exactly, do you propose that I do?"

_"Not sure… but you better think of something before the cops start on your trail."_

"I know, I know."

_"You're lucky that he didn't call them when you broke his wrist."_

"I know. It hurt his pride too much." We both laugh.

_"Anyway, I gotta go. Think of something."_

"You got it."

I hang up and spin around in my chair, observing the cabin that I chose as a hide out. It isn't much; it only has a table that my brother's T.V. rests on, a bed, a door, and some shackles that are attached to the wall. No window.

But, it will soon hold a certain brown-haired teenager.

* * *

**(1) Ok, correct me if I'm wrong (though I'm pretty sure I'm not), but Kim and Jack are the only Wasabi Warriors that saw and know about Greg (besides Kiara). So naturally, Eddie and Jerry wouldn't recognize him. Perfect camouflage. **

**Ok, so I'm feeling kinda iffy about this whole fic. I will complete it, but... meh. Just tell me how it is in a review (please)! **

**Until next time (hopefully next Saturday)**

**-BP**


	2. One Down, A Bunch More to Go

**Ok, this was me earlier (italics is what I was typing, yes this means you get a preview of a future fic)**

_**"Come on, Krupnick, lighten up," Jerry says. "It's Halloween. It's all about the candy, as a part of Halloween's Past." He says 'Halloween's Past' in a really deep and spooky kind of voice, and it actually creeps me out a little bit.**_

_**"Actually," Milton replies. "Halloween was originally a Christian Celtic holiday called 'Samhain' [pronounced Sah-ween], a time of year when—"**_

_**"— it was believed that the spirits of the dead were able to mingle with the living," he and Kiara finish together. Kiara smirks when he looks at her in surprise.**_

_**"What? You're not the only smart one in this group." She pauses, then adds to herself, "Then again, I'm more of a technologically inclined person…" She and Milton then continue their conversation about Samhain.**_

_**Well, really it's more like them shooting questions back and forth to see who knows more about "Samhain". I swear, if Julie and Milton weren't a couple, he and Kiara would be almost perfect together.**_

_**"Wait, where are we?" Jack suddenly asks. The rest of us look around, taking note of our surroundings. Tall, dead, leafless trees are all around us, with darkness clinging to them like glue; dead leaves litter the unpaved ground; we had all somehow managed to wander onto a path in the woods behind the park without realizing it… if you could even call it a path. It just ends abruptly about five feet in front of us, where the trees had been left alone to grow.**_

_**"Weren't we in the middle of all those bright lights and stuff like ten seconds ago?" Jerry asks, confused. For once he's not the only one.**_

_**"Uh, yeah," Eddie says. He looks over his shoulder at the festive going-ons that we had left. "The bucket of candy I saw earlier is waaaaay back there."**_

_**"Come on, let's go back," Milton says, glancing around with a nervous expression. He turns around, ready to do as he suggested, when Jack says:**_

_**"Wait."**_

**...**

**"HOLY CRAP, I FORGOT TODAY WAS SATURDAY."**

**(followed by my little sister showing that she clearly didn't care)**

**Anyway, a lot goes on in this chapter, and it actually goes through like two or three days... fudge. I remember telling myself 'Ok, you have to remember to include _ in your next author's note', but completely forgot what it was. Oh well, I'll remember later.**

**Disclaimer: **The actors are older than me. How is it even possible for me to own their characters?

**(3/6/2013 Edit: Ok, I remembered what I was going to say. Three things actually. 1-Should I make this a crossover with Criminal Minds? (Those of you who don't watch that show... should.) 2-I might not be able to update on Saturday because I'm going on an overnight trip to the XXX Zoo... what? You really think I'm gonna give you a clue to where I live? Plus, those x's might not correctly represent how many letters are in the first word... good luck trying to figure out what it is. XP 3-Can any of you guys tell me the episodes of Kickin It that have Grace and/or Kelsey in it? I haven't seen them at all in the series, and I want to know a wee bit more about their personalities... did I seriously just say 'wee bit'? LOL)**

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

I sigh, glancing out the window at the rising sun. It must be at least six thirty a.m, judging by its position in the sky.

I always have been an early riser.

I finished my normal school morning routine about five minutes ago, and I've already eaten breakfast, so now I'm sitting here trying to think of a way to satisfy the overwhelming boredom while I wait for my mom and Jack to wake up.

_What to do, what to do…_

I grin mischievously as I think of something. I tap my phone, looking at the time. _6:51 A.M. _it reads; only about ten minutes away from the time he normally wakes up.

Perfect.

**Five Minutes Later**

I quietly exit my mom's room and gently close the door behind me, having successfully placed the earmuffs (which were covering a pair of earplugs) over her ears.

I tiptoe into my brother's room, stifling giggles and trying to be quiet. In one hand, I have my iPod and Jack's metal bo staff. In the other hand, I have my camcord, ready to go.

This is gonna be _priceless._

I make my way over to his bedside table and set the iPod speaker on top of it as close to Jack's head as I can get it, unplugging his alarm clock and plugging the iPod speaker in its place in the outlet in the wall underneath the table. I turn on my iPod and rifle through the songs on it, looking for the one tune that I seek…

Found it!

I make sure the volume is almost all the way low so I can still hear a little. Glancing up at Jack, I pause at the peaceful expression on his face before smirking; that's gonna change in a second.

I press play, and the song begins. Hopefully it doesn't wake Jack… yet.

_I'm counting the days since I began to live without you_

_I'm covered in rain, but it feels just like it's the sun_

I smile, silently mouthing the words of _Hey _along with Mitchell Musso's voice. **(1)**

_And it don't get me down_

_Don't come around_

_You're better off leaving town_

_I'm fine here, alone now, without you_

I pause the song right before the beginning of the chorus, grinning wickedly. I put the volume on my iPod up to all the way up, as high as it could possibly go. I do the same with the speaker, and place my iPod in the holder.

I raise the bo staff and tiptoe backwards until the end of it only just reaches the screen of my IPod. I turn on my camcord and press 'record'. Then, I flip out the screen and move the small device until it's focused on Jack's sleeping form.

I take a tiny step forward, bracing myself for the sure to be deafening sound that will accompany me pressing that play button, before I tap the screen gently with the bo staff.

_HEY!-_

Jack startles awake, his reflexes lashing out as he falls off the bed and tangles himself up in the blankets. Meanwhile, Mitchell Musso's voice is still playing, and I'm laughing so hard that I think I may wet myself.

_—don't care enough to, write you a letter now that I'm doing better alone—_

"Kiara? What the…?" Jack asks, sleepy and confused. I'm laughing too hard to answer him, grateful that I got the whole thing on video.

_—I'm screaming at ya, _

_Hey! Don't care enough to—_

The disoriented Jack finally yanks out the plug of the iPod speaker from the outlet, quieting the sound to the maximum level of my iPod's volume.

"Oh— my— gosh" I gasp out, almost choking on my laughter. I press the record button again, stopping the video.

"You're gonna regret that," Jack grumbles, untangling himself from his blankets and standing up, stretching. I stop laughing and sigh, giggling a little, but as soon as I catch Jack's glare I burst out laughing again, falling to the floor and clutching at my stomach (which is now starting to hurt a bit).

After I calm down to just giggling again, I turn my head towards where I think Jack is, but he's in his bathroom. I can tell by the sound of water running as he turns on the shower so the water could get warm. I direct my attention to the patch of ceiling above Jack's doorway, making no move to get up. I make little shapes out of the marks and dot things in the material. There's a rabbit. About two feet to the left of it is a heart. Below the heart, right above the wooden doorway, is a small black rectangle that looks like a mini-camera. Next to that is a—

Wait.

Mom didn't install security cameras in the bedrooms because of privacy. So why is this one here? I stand up, cautious, as Ty's 'camera room' in the Black Dragons dojo flashes through my memory. I slowly stand up, my eyes never leaving that black rectangle.

I let out a shocked gasp as the camera suddenly starts smoking and sparking. There's a loud _POP!_ Something tells me that it doesn't work anymore. I frown; I have to remember to ask Jack about this.

* * *

_Greg's POV_

I growl in annoyance, cursing myself and vowing that I would be more careful. Destroying the camera could have been avoided if I just hid it more discreetly. I make a mental note to get another camera in Jack's room.

_'Now for a more pressing matter'_ I think as I turn to the small hunk of metal and wood that sits in front of me.

_'Getting this thing in his locker.'_

* * *

_Milton's POV_

I look around as I walk into the school, huffing in annoyance as an unknown man rushes past me and jostles my arm in the process, making me drop my two library books. I pick them up, mildly irritated.

Rude, much?

I smile as I spot my friends at our normal spot by the base of the stairs. Jerry and Eddie are sharing a bag of Cheetos and chatting. Kim, Kiara, and Jack are all having their own conversation. Jack has his arm around Kim's waist.

I smile; they've been dating for a while now, since about January. I'm not sure exactly when, but I'm thinking it was probably the day that they skipped practice, the day after we got the dojo back from the Black Dragons.**(2)** Even I have to admit that they're a cute couple. I walk over to my locker and get out my needed things, before walking over my friends.

"It's kinda weird how all out lockers are all near each other, isn't it?" I say casually to them. It really is pretty weird; Eddie, Jerry, and I's lockers are on one side of the hall, while Jack, Kim, and Kiara's are all on the other.

"Yeah. It is. I've always wondered why it's like that," Kim says thoughtfully.

"Maybe they sensed that Swag-Master Jerry needs to be close to his peeps," Jerry says, smirking cockily. I roll my eyes.

"Whatever you say, Jerry," Jack says, chuckling as he dials in his locker combination. With a small click, his locker opens, and fist-sized object falls out. I reach down and pick it up, moving to give it to him, but I stop and stare at the object in shock. The small metal stick that the little bronze insect rested on is snapped in two. The wooden base is rotted and broken. The cylindrical support column is chipped and splintering. And the plaque with my name on it is melted into nothingness.

My spelling bee trophy. **(3)**

Completely destroyed.

"Hey, what's that?" Eddie asks through a mouthful of Cheetos.

"My… trophy…" I whisper. I've always wondered where that thing went. I never did see it again after that day…

"Trophy?" Jack asks, in a confused tone.

As if he didn't know.

"Why?... I thought… but…" I manage to get out. The overwhelming feelings of anger, betrayal, and sadness that are clashing together inside of me are majorly affecting my speech.

"Milton?"

The anger wins, and I explode. "WHY?! WHY JACK?!" I yell at him. He looks at me with an expression of shock, hurt, and confusion. The others watch on in stunned surprise, mouths agape, but none of that deterred me in the slightest. "I TOLD YOU HOW IMPORTANT THIS THING WAS TO ME! AND YOU JUST… you just…"

Jack pathetically (in my eyes) tries to explain himself. "Milton, I swear to you, I have no idea how it got in my locker. I put it next to my gymnastics trophy the day after Nakamura's competi—"

"Save it, Jack," I say softly, cutting him off. "Just save it." I walk away as the homeroom bell rings, happy that I only have homeroom, third and fourth period with him. **(4)**

* * *

_Greg's POV_

That was a close call, bumping into that scrawny Krupnick boy. I manage to get to my van and hack into the school's camera system just in time to witness the scrawny redhead explode at his friend.

_"WHY?! WHY JACK?! I TOLD YOU HOW IMPORTANT THIS THING WAS TO ME! AND YOU JUST… you just…"_

I smirk, chuckling as the boy walks away, leaving Jack looking pathetically confused.

One down, a lot more to go.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling with my hands underneath my head and wondering…

…what happened?

I have no idea how Milton's trophy got in my locker. I haven't given anyone, not even one of my friends the combination.

I tried to talk to Milton in homeroom, but he managed to avoid me in the five minutes that we stayed in there. I tried again in first period, which is World Geography, but I had to use the whole class period to do the book work that Ms. Applebaum assigned to us. I tried again in the only other class that I have with him; fourth period, also known as P.E., but the gym teachers decided that dodgeball was necessary today, and Milton was on the opposite team. Whenever I tried to talk to him, I got pegged in the face.

I have to say, that boy has quite an arm.

At practice today, it was even worse. He completely ignored me; it's like I wasn't even there. Now I'm at home, wondering what the heck happened.

_Knock, knock, knock_

I turn my head towards my doorway and see my mom standing there, with a questioning expression on her face. "May I come in?"

I shrug, turning back to the ceiling. She comes over and sits next to me on my bed.

"Kiara told me what happened."

"Ok."

She sighs. "Jack—"

"I didn't do it, Mom. I have no idea how it got into my locker."

She gazes at me for the longest time, making me wonder what she's thinking. "Ok, then. I believe you. The hard part will be getting Milton to do the same."

"I don't get how my locker was opened, though. Not even Kiara or any of my other friends know the combination, and yet…"

"Well, you can think about that once you have your friend back."

"_How_, though? Unless I can prove that I didn't do it, Milton will hate me for the rest of my life!"

"Oh, I think you're exaggerating."

"I think not. He can hold a grudge."

"Really."

"He's still sore about when you accidentally spilled pepper in his spaghetti that time he came over."

"What are you— oh… but that was months ago!"

"Case in point."

"Oh. Good luck with that then."

I look over at her, annoyed. She chuckles at the 'REALLY?!' expression on my face before patting me on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

* * *

_Greg's POV_

"You're getting old, Greg," I grumble to myself as I lift pull myself into the little brat's room via his window. That stupid sister of his just _had _to discover the camera that I put in here. Still muttering pointless complaints, I tiptoe over to where I put the old (now ruined) camera and gently take it off of the wall. I put if my bag and take out a new one, searching for a more secluded place to put it.

I spot a corner of the doorframe leading to his bathroom, where the wood had broken somehow and created a hole, js the perfect size for the camera. The hole is pitch black, so the surveillance device will blend in quite nicely.

I install it into the hole and then turn around, looking for Jack's phone…

I locate it on a bedside table near his head, and curse at how close I have to get to him. I silently pad over and pick it up, tapping the screen and unlocking it. I enter his 5-digit numerical passcode, which is _11914_ **(5)**, and tap his contacts button, smirking. I add a phone number, name it _Donna,_ and put the phone back down.

_'Last but not least,' _I think, turning to the sleeping teen himself. _'His necklace.'_

How the heck am I going to do this?

**15 Minutes Later**

Finally I manage to get that damn necklace off. Sighing in annoyance, I twist off the cap and grin at the silver that is revealed. I bring out the small laptop that I brought with me and push it into a USB port. I find the video that I'm looking for and grin, copying it into one of my files. That grin fades ten seconds later as I realize that I have to get the necklace back onto him.

Oh, great…

IDEA!

I lift him up from his bed, loving what I thought of more and more. His stupid reflexes make him punch me in the face, and have to restrain myself from growling in annoyance so I won't wake him up.

I put him down in a chair in the kitchen and smirk. The confusion he'll feel when he wakes up will definitely be a plus for me. I put his necklace back around his neck and tiptoe back upstairs. A little bit of annoyance sparks up as I realize it will probably be a few more days before I can act on my revenge.

Patience is a virtue…

* * *

_Kim's POV_

_'What happened yesterday?' _I think, looking out of the corner of my eye at Milton, who is chatting with the others… minus Jack. Then again, that might just be because my boyfriend isn't here yet. _'There's no way Jack would do something like that, but at the same time…' _

"Hey, babe," Jack says, greeting me with a small peck on the lips as he sits down next to me. Yesterday was one of the (few) days that my friends and I don't bother to go to homeroom before the bell (which is fine because our homeroom teacher doesn't mind, as long as we're in right after the bell.

"Hey," I say softly, smiling at him. He frowns, and I mentally sigh. He knows me so well.

"What's wrong?" He asks. I bite my lip nervously (a habit that he finds adorable), and say nothing.

"Kim," He says, putting a finger under my chin and lifting my head up. He stares into my eyes, and I find myself getting lost in them. God, I love those brown eyes…

"Kim?" he asks again, clearly worried now.

"Uhh… it's nothing," I say, trying to brush it off with a smile.

"No, it's not nothing, because something is bothering you and I want to know what it is so I can stop it," he says, determined. I smile at his insistence.

"It's you and Milton," I say finally. "I don't know what to think of it."

His expression saddens, and he glances over at the redhead. "He's not talking to me," he says quietly.

"You have to figure out a way to prove it to him that you didn't do it."

"But _how_? It's usually him that's figuring out this kind of stuff. And what am I supposed to say? 'It somehow broke into my locker and decided to sit in there because I haven't given anyone the combination?!" He sighs in frustration, running a hand through his hair (a habit that I find sexy).

I frown, placing a hand on his cheek and rubbing it. "I hate it when you're all stressed out," I murmur.

His expression softens a bit. "I hate things that _make_ me all stressed out," he replies.

"You think it can make you a little… un-stressed out?" I ask in a breathy voice, smirking and leaning in.

He smirks as well. "I think you can try."

I smile as he kisses me, wondering how long we can this time before—

"PDA, Anderson, Crawford!" Mr. Nicoles, our homeroom teacher, booms from the front of the room. We separate.

"Sorry, sir, but I don't see a PDA anywhere." Jack says, smirking even more. I laugh quietly, knowing he doesn't mean it.

If there's one thing that Jack loves doing, it's arguing with Mr. Nicoles. I'm not sure why he likes it so much. It's just something that he does. They argue over the weirdest things; how many pickles should be able to fit in a pickle jar on average, why people should watch _COPS_, genetics (even though he's a history teacher), and turtles. I really think that Mr. Nicoles enjoys their arguments/conversations, too, because anyone can see he's in a better mood after one. Mr. Nicoles is just one of those teachers that you look forward to seeing every day… along with Mrs. Erdman (English), Ms. Wisson (Art), and Mr. Cooper (Spanish).

"Check yourself, Anderson," the smiling teacher says in response.

"Mr. Nicoles, is your dog feeling better?" Jack asks, as the homeroom bell rings and everyone sits down. Earlier this week, Mr. Nicoles told the class about how his three year old daughter fed grapes **(6) **to their collie, Scarlet, and the poor canine got sick.

"Yes, she's actually doing much better after we took her to the vet yesterday. Thanks for asking," Mr. Nicoles replies, smiling. He picks up his clipboard and does attendance.

"So, what are we talking about right now?" Mr. Nicoles says, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against his desk. The class makes various comments about not knowing.

"What about you, Jason?" he asks, speaking to a male student who was sort of slouched in his seat and observing. "Whatcha thinking about? Soccer (Jason's a soccer player)?"

Jason smiles. "No."

"Girls? Girls who play soccer?"

Jason laughs. "No."

"Cats? Salt?"

"COCAINE?!" **(7)**Jerry speaks up loudly. The rest of the class (whom had been giggling lightly up until this point) now started to full out laugh.

"How about weed?" some random dude in the back of the room asks, laughing.

"Drugs?"

Meanwhile, Mr. Nicoles is in the front of the room, chuckling. "How do you guys even _know _about this stuff?"

Most people shrug in response.

"Ok, let's talk about something else," Mr. Nicoles says.

"You know what be really cool?" Eddie suddenly says. "If I were a super spy."

"Eddie, buddy, you're a great kid and all but… I don't really think you'd make it as a super spy," the teacher replies. The class laughs again while Eddie mildly sulks. The bell rings, and everyone starts packing. I sigh as I watch Jack try and talk to Milton again, but the stubborn redhead just refuses to listen.

"Good morning, class, today we will be doing partner work," Mrs. Applebaum says as her students file into her classroom. "The groups are on the board. You will each read and take notes on an article. In the last five minutes of class, you both will come together and compare notes."

I turn my attention to the board, focusing only on the six names of my friends and I.

_Kiara A. and Kim C._

_Milton K. and Jack A._

_Eddie J. and Jerry M. _

This won't turn out well…

* * *

**(1) ****_Hey _****Mitchell Musso. I know it seems like I got the lyrics wrong, but I didn't. I just left out some parts because I was trying to tell everything exactly as it was happening. **

**(2) ****Season 2, Episode 22, _Kickin' It On Our Own, _ending scene**

**(3) ****Season 1, Episode 2, _Fat Chance, _ending scene**

**(4) ****I have no idea what the class periods in high school are like, considering the fact that I'm only in 7th grade, (and the fact that I live in the U.S. and high school schedules are most likely different in other countries) so I just did their class schedules based off of my middle school one.**

**(5) ****See if you can figure out the significance in those numbers. :)**

**(6) ****Do _NOT _feed grapes to your pet. I haven't tried it before, but reading about it on the internet is enough to know that that is a big no-no. And while I'm here, my best friend's mom has a collie named Scarlet, so I just thought I'd include her in here.**

**(7) ****We actually had a conversation like this in my Language Arts class. (Because my LA teacher is just that awesome). I can't remember everything that was said (which is kinda weird because I was sitting behind 'Jason' (not his real name)) but one thing that stuck out was the 'cocaine' thing. And the "How do you guys _know _about this stuff" part.**

**Don't forget to review!**

**Until next time,**

**-BP**


	3. Confusion and Self Betrayal?

**Ok you guys, i really don't have a valid excuse for not updating last week. I won't bored you with a long and winded apology because some of you guys actually read my author's notes. I'm sorry, on with the story. And i changed the summary.**

**Disclaimer: **Nope. Not possible.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

It turns out that Milton and Jack actually did a pretty good job working together. How do I know this? Well, it might be the fact that I was glancing back at them every five seconds (which actually got Kiara really annoyed). Milton pretty much ignored Jack for the first two or three minutes, but then realized that he needed the brunette to do the assignment.

That doesn't mean they made up though.

Right after the bell rang, Milton just went back to being as cold as ice. I wish he would stop acting like a complete jerk and just realize that Jack didn't destroy his trophy. There's no way he would do something like that…

Right?

_'Of course you're right!' _my brain scolds me. _'Jack is your sweet, hot, caring boyfriend! He's not a douchebag, like some people.' _The douchebag, of course, is Ty, who kidnapped Jack two months ago.

I bite my lip. That was the most terrifying week of my life. I thought I would never see him again…

"Kim?! What's wrong?!" I hear Jack's voice ask frantically, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look up and remember that I'm standing by my locker, and I'm supposed to be going to English with him.

"What? Nothing. Why do you assume nothing's wrong?" I ask, trying to laugh it off.

"Because," he says softly, cupping my cheek. "you're crying." He wipes away the tears that I didn't realize I had released. "What were you thinking about?"

"…whenever Ty kidnapped you," I whisper. His expression softens.

"It's over now, Kim. I'm safe, I'm okay."

I bury my face into his shirt, fisting it tightly. "Promise me you won't leave me like that again," I say, my voice muffled because of his shirt (which smells so much like him).

"Kim…"

"Promise!"

"I… I promise."

I smile and pull away. He smiles back.

"Feeling better now?"

"Much."

* * *

**(A/N: Ok, you guys some of you don't read my author's notes but this is really improtant: I ADDED A NEW SCENE IN THE LAST CHAPTER! It's really important, so you should go check it out.)**

_Jack's POV_

"The first time I picked up the Hunger Games and started reading it, I didn't like it," Mrs. Erdman **(1) **says, stepping out from behind her desk. A girl in the back of the room gasps.

"Yes, because it's so surprising that I have an opinion," the blonde teacher says casually (sarcastically) in response. She picks up her phone and taps it, looking at the time. "And, we'll talk more about the Hunger Games and why _I like it now _after lunch." When she emphasizes 'I like it now', she stares directly at the girl in the back that gasped. Said girl slumps down in her seat with an embarrassed smile.

Not feeling particularly hungry when I get to the lunch room, I go over to the vending machine outside the cafeteria. Digging around in my pocket for a dollar, I finally find one and select one of the bright yellow bags of _Lays _(the original kind). Walking back into the lunchroom, I go over and sit at my usual table with my friends and sister. I notice Jerry is absent from the table.

"Where's Jerry?" I ask Eddie, who attends the same class, Science with Mrs. Hethla, in this period. Kiara and Milton both have Honors Algebra II with Mr. Tess. **(2)**

"He's getting something from his locker," Eddie replies, distracted by something on his phone. I shrug, continuing to eat my bag of chips.

A few minutes later, Jerry walks into the cafeteria looking really stressed out. But then his gaze lands on me (more specifically, my bag of chips) and his expression darkens. He stalks over.

"You!" he hisses, standing in front of me.

"Me?" I ask, confused.

"¡Ladrón!" he yells at me. "Te metiste en mi casillero y se robó el chip tenía la forma de la cabeza de Abraham Lincoln! Pensé que éramos amigos. Quiero decir, no el chip que es tan importante como el hecho de que robaste ..." He suddenly stops and blinks at my clueless look, and then sighs. "…Y no tienes ni idea de lo que estoy diciendo. **(3)**"

He shakes his head and walks away, saying. "Whatever, man."

For all I know, he could have just told me that Chuck Norris just got shot. Then again, I heard 'Abraham Lincoln' at one point.

Wait a second…

I look down at the bag of chips I'm eating.

Lays.

And he just happens to have a Lays potato chip shaped like Abraham Lincoln's head.

…

Did he think I ate it?

"From what I got from that, he says you broke into his locker and stole something related to Abraham Lincoln," Kiara says, after a moment of silence. Before I can reply to him, Eddie suddenly throws his phone on the table and storms away.

"What the crap?" Kim says, looking at him as he walks away. "What's up with them?"

I grab Eddie's phone, thinking that maybe it was the cause for his dramatic exit. The screen seems to reply to me as I watch the video that Truman tried to blackmail Eddie with last week.

I scroll down, shocked as I realize that that the video is on Youtube. What the crap? The video was on my flashdrive for safekeeping. I have no idea how it would have gotten on the internet. But Eddie… Eddie would say that I did it. This confuses me just as much as waking up in the kitchen this morning did. I run a hand through my hair and sigh when a frightening thought strikes me:

What if I'm doing these horrible things to my friends and not realizing it?

I mean, I don't think I destroyed Milton's trophy or ate Jerry's Abraham Lincoln chip or posted the video of Eddie dancing, but I might have and just not known it. Oh my god, what is wrong with me?…

I never notice Kim and Kiara exchange a worried look.

* * *

_Greg's POV_

I grin as the brat has a little mental freak-out. I knew putting him in the kitchen was a good idea. Oh yes, this is going to be good…

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

"Uh, guys… I mean girls," Jack says with a distracted look on his face. "I gotta go and… check something."

He gets up and leaves the table without getting a response from us.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Kim asks softly, watching Jack's retreating back.

"I don't know," I reply worriedly. I pick up Eddie's phone from the table, wondering if it would reveal something. I play the video and frown as I recognize it. "Hey, isn't this that video from like a week a go that Truman tried to blackmail Eddie with?"

Kim leans over and looks at the screen, frowning. "Yeah… but we put it on Jack's necklace flashdrive thing. The only way it could have gotten on Youtube is if…"

"If Jack uploaded it," I finish grimly.

"Do not tell me you believe that your brother did this!" she says, shocked. I'm about to point out that I just finished her sentence for her and it's what she was going to say anyway, but instead I choose to reply,

"He's the only one that could. After all, it's _his_ flashdrive that the video was on." I'm unknowingly letting Ty's teaching about how evil Jack and Mom start to take over my head again. _'I always knew he had this side to him.'_

"But…"

"Who else could have broken Milton's trophy or ate Jerry's Abraham Lincoln head chip?" I mutter, putting Eddie's phone back on the table as I cross my arms and lean back in my chair.

"What—? I… you—!... I can not _believe _you!" Kim screeches, abruptly standing up in her chair and simultaneously knocking it over. I roll my eyes.

"Whatever."

I should have known that he was like this. I have no idea why he's doing it, when it's so obvious that he did it, but… I don't know, maybe he's just getting careless.

Kim will get her turn eventually, and (unfortunately) so will I.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

_'Am I going insane?' _I think, imagining that the dummy in front is the solid form of my anger and fear and proceeding to beat the crap out of it. _'Or am I losing my memory somehow? Am I even doing this stuff at all?'_

It's only a matter of time before I hurt Kim or Kiara as well. Maybe even Mom, too.

"Jack, I think you need to go home now," Rudy's voice says from behind me. I ignore him. He puts a hand on my shoulder. I whip around, my fist only centimeters from his face.

"Jack… is something going on that you're not telling me? You've seemed… off since yesterday."

Should I tell him?

"Does it have to do with the fact that Milton, Eddie, and Jerry were all ignoring you earlier today?"

Huh, he's not as oblivious as I thought. But what if I hurt him, too?

"Jack."

"I'm fine," I finally say, mentally priding myself on the fact that I managed to get that out without my voice wavering.

"Jack…"

"I'm serious, Rudy. There's nothing wrong."

He frowns, but drops the subject. "Fine. Just… do you want me to drop you off at home?"

"No. I'll just skateboard."

"…ok. Go change and let's go."

I walk into the locker rooms and change out of my practice clothes and shove them into my small duffel bag, grabbing my skateboard and following Rudy out of the dojo. We make our way to the front of the mall together.

"Jack, please let me take you home. I have a really bad feeling right now."

"It's ok, Rudy. I'll see you tomorrow."

He sighs and gets into his car, waving as he drives off. I put my skateboard on the ground and step onto it, taking off down the sidewalk.

I finally arrive at my front door and grab my keys out of my pocket. I unlock the door and I'm about to open it when I pause. I have the distinct feeling that I'm being watched. Looking around, my eyes widen as I see a dark figure disappear behind a nearby tree. I quickly rush into the house and slam it closed behind me, quickly locking it before leaning on it.

Mom looks up from the couch, with a phone in her hand and a stern but fearful look on her face.

"Jack!" she says in surprise. "Rudy, he's home," she says into the phone. She hangs up and stands, hands on her hips. "Jackson Richard Brewer, where have you been? Kiara came home early, so she couldn't tell me, Rudy said you left the dojo at seven, and it is now _ten _o'clock!"

"At the dojo and on my way home?" I reply, deciding that being a smart mouth was not the best idea right now. I briefly panic; it normally only takes me about an hour to get home on my skateboard. What if I did something else that I just can remember? I can't help but glance out the window at the tree from earlier.

But of course my mom has to be one of the most perceptive women in the world, and she notices my nervous glance. Her expression softens and she takes a few steps toward me. "Jack, is… is someone trying to take advantage of you?" She holds up her favorite necklace in her hand. "I found this in your room, but I know you wouldn't steal something from me… willingly. Is someone threatening to hurt you?"

The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them: "I don't know."

Her eyes widen. "Who—?"

"Never mind, forget I said that," I say, pushing past her and heading towards the stairs. I start to run up them, meaning to get up the stairs and lock myself in my room so I could (attempt to) clear my head. But, Kiara is standing in the middle of the stairway and blocking me from going anywhere.

"No, Jack," she says coldly, her attitude frighteningly similar to the way it was whenever she was still in Ty's care. I also notice the faint tear tracks on his face. "Enlighten us. Where has your heart gone lately?"

"I… What are you talking about?" I ask her, trying to figure out what to say.

"This," she says, holding up a tangled mess of wires and some kind of broken electronic.

"What is—?"

"The remains of my cam-cord," she says in a small voice. I finally figure out what she's suggesting.

"Kiara, I didn't—"

"And why should I believe you?" she asks. "Milton, Jerry, Eddie, me; you're picking us all off one by one. Why?"

"Jack? Kiara? What's going on?" Mom asks, completely oblivious to the subject of our conversation.

"It's simple, Mom," Kiara says, turning around and going back up the stairs. "Jack is evil, just like Ty said."

* * *

**(1) Yes, I put my Language Arts teacher Mrs. Erdman in here, because I couldn't resist not to… and ****_I Win _****is going to tell her that I named a character after her at school on Monday. Great. -.-**

**(2) ****_I Win, _****I know you're totally going to say something about that. Don't.**

**(3) Roughly translated: Thief! You broke into my locker and stole the chip was shaped like the head of Abraham Lincoln! I thought we were friends. I mean, not the chip that is as important as the fact that you stole ... And you have no idea what I'm saying.**

**Ok you guys, hope you like the cliffhanger. ^.^**

**Until next time,**

**-BP**


	4. One Last Disapointment

**I feel like I've been really letting you guys down by not updating when I said I would. TT-TT. My mom's been out of town for a month and she just came back on Friday, so Saturday was just… meh,and Sunday was pretty much the same thing. Something is wrong with my 'a' key on my keyboard, so if there are words that are missing 'a's in some places then that's why. I have no idea how teenagers spoke in the 1930's so forgive my if my language is too 'modern'.**

**Disclaimer: **Not yet, still trying to hack Disney XD. (lol, not really... Or am i?)

* * *

"It's simple, Mom. Jack is evil, just like Ty said."

Her words practically steal my breath away. Am I?

Am I really?

"What? Jack, what is she talking about?"

I don't answer her. Instead, I walk up to my room (since Kiara is no longer blocking me) and close the door, locking it behind me.

I spot my journal on my computer desk. I walk over there and pick it up, rubbing at the leathery material, before grabbing one of Grandpa's as well and walking over to my bed. I open up the older notebook and read the first page of my grandpa's spidery handwriting.

_March 14th, 1934 9:12 P.M._

'_Huh. That's a coincidence,' _I think, my despair momentarily replaced by bemusement at the fact that this one entry that I chose happened to be written on today's date, seventy-nine years ago. I do the math; he wrote this when he was fifteen. Interesting.

_I wonder what would happen if I disappeared. Vanished. Poofed myself from existence. How would people react? Would anyone care? My parents, Seaford, the world; no one would notice. Maybe Paige would… maybe not. I do not know.  
Yesterday, I was wandering around in the woods and I found a cabin. It looked like it was in pristine condition, but there was no one in it and there was no sign of any inhabitance. All that was in there was a bed, a table, and a window, and punching bag (hanging from a ring on the ceiling) in the corner. Maybe someone practiced boxing or something here?  
I do not know why, but I climbed on the roof and just sat there and watched the sun go down. It was… peaceful. I think I might be visiting the cabin on a regular basis. Who knows? Maybe I can bring some of my equipment and practice here._

The entry ends there. Confused, I think on it. Grandpa did say he had a rough childhood because his parents thought that martial arts was a waste of time, but I didn't know that I was this deep. 'Paige' is his wife, my grandmother, though at the time she was his girlfriend. Why wouldn't she care? Grandma was one of the most caring people in the world! How would she not see that something was wrong with Grandpa?

I skip a few pages forward and choose a new entry. I notice that there are little spots of water all over the page, and they're concentrated more around and on the entry that I selected. I also noticed that his handwriting in the entry is shaky, as if he were having trouble writing. As a result of all this, some of the letters seemed capital in the wrong places and vise versa with the lowercase ones.

_April 20th, 1934 5:22 P.M._

_I tried to kill myself today. I was at the cabin, seriously about to do it.  
But I could not.  
It was pretty easy, too; I stole a knife from the kitchen and brought it out there with me onto the roof of 'my cabin' as I now call. I go out and wander all the time, so my parents didn't think it unusual. When I was thinking about how to do it, the large variety of ways I could do away with my life scared me; I could stab myself, hang myself, jump in front of a car, throw myself off the Seaford cliff… the possibilities were endless.  
But then I thought about Paige, the one person that cares about me in the world. And I could not do it. I had to live, for her.  
I dropped the knife on the ground (still on the roof) and started sobbing, rocking myself back and forth.  
Later I went home, but everything was the same; Mother still fought with Father, and Joseph _[Grandpa's younger brother] _was blissfully oblivious to everything, since he is only a toddler.  
How lucky he is._

I frown and close the journal, putting it aside.

…wow. I don't even know how to respond to that.

My brain chooses that moment to release my current problems back into the forefront of my mind, and I sigh. '_My friends hate me… except for Kim. Then again, she's my girlfriend. But she can be my friend at the same time… THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT!'_

I blink at the fact that I just mentally yelled at myself. '_Just one more thing that I can add to the "Am I Going Nuts?" theory.'_

I sigh, picking up my journal and opening up to the first page, which was almost filled with my entries from the previous two days. I pick up a pen from my bedside table and start to write.

_March 14, 2013 10:13 P.M._

_I just finished reading a couple of Grandpa's journal entries. I didn't know this, but he was… suicidal, when he was younger. I never knew about this… wow. The only person I can relate to is dead. How convenient. No I'm not saying I'm suicidal, but…_ _I'm freaking out. What's wrong with me? Am I hurting my friends? Or is someone else doing something? I have no idea… My friends hate me. My sister hates me. My mom… I don't even know what she's thinking. Kim is probably the only person that thinks I'm still innocent. Is this going to end… ever?  
I don't know what's going on. I think I'm losing my memory or something, because things have been happening. Milton's spelling bee trophy was destroyed, and I'm the only one who knew where it was before that. Someone broke into Jerry's locker and stole Jerry's Abraham Lincoln head chip, and I happened to be eating a bag of potato chips right after he discovered that. Someone posted the video of Eddie dancing with the dummy that night in the dojo. Someone obliterated Kiara's cam-cord.  
Notice how all those sentences begin with "someone"?  
What if that someone is me?  
I mean, I'm pretty much the only person who knew about and/or could have done any of those things. So yeah, I have a problem. I'm probably not going to school tomorrow. It'd probably be better for everyone._

I close the journal and set it on my bedside table next to me, along with my pen and Grandpa's journal. I lay back down on my bed, pulling the covers over me. Should I go to school tomorrow? It probably would be better for everyone anyways, if I'm have this weird memory problem going on.

With my thoughts in turmoil, I slowly fall into a nightmare-filled sleep.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

"Hey, Kiara, where's Jack?" I ask worriedly. I wasn't alarmed in homeroom because there was a possibility he just skipped out. When the bell rang and he didn't appear, I started to get concerned.

Kiara, who had been happily chatting with Milton while Ms. Applebaum got organized, frowned as soon as I said Jack's name. "Cooped up in his room," she replies darkly. Then, seconds later, adds "Wimp" under her breath.

What the crap? Her attitude has been all weird towards Jack since yesterday at lunch. Wait… maybe…

"Kiara, did something happened to you too?" I ask.

"Nothing happened. He killed Camry**(1)**. Simple as that."

Her first sentence got me more than a little concerned until I remembered that 'Camry' is what she named her pink cam-cord, only one of her two. The other one, 'Cameron', is silverish blue. Being a techie, she treats all of her technology like pets, and that includes naming and taking care of them.

"Kiara, do you seriously think—"

She whirls on me and screams "YES!", and everyone in the room turns and looks in our direction. Too mad to bother with embarrassment, she turns back to a shocked Milton and resumes their conversation.

Because of the fact that I have no other classes with her (and she totally ignored me at lunch) I don't get to speak to her for the rest of the day. ;

* * *

_Kim's POV_

Art class.

My favorite class of the day, because I get to express myself as much as I want.

"Hi, Mrs. Wisson," I greet as I walk in. The chubby-in-a-sweet-way African-American teacher **(2) **smiles as she steps out from behind her desk. I smile back at her, hugging her as she replies, "Hi, baby." **(in a sweet way, not a creepy pedo way. Gosh, you pervs. XD)** Mrs. Wisson never criticizes; she only tells you ways to improve. She is the kindest lady I know, and I don't think it's possible for her to yell. She LOVES giving hugs; today is no exception.

"Ooo, did you get new glasses?" I say appreciatively as she lets me go. Her normal glasses that have a plastic cheetah print frame have been replaced a dark red-framed pair of glasses with a pink and white daisy depicted in stones on the sides. She beams.

"Yes, I did! What do you think?"

"I love them! I think they match your personality perfectly, and they look great on you!" I reply truthfully. She smiles even wider (if that's possible).

She laughs humbly, walking back over to her desk. "We're just free drawing today, so you can go get a mini-canvas off of my desk and go sit down." Mrs. Wisson doesn't call printer paper by its name; she calls it a "mini-canvas." It's the same way that she calls construction paper drawing paper.

I grab a piece of paper from her desk and walk over to my seat. The empty seat to my right will soon be occupied by Eddie. Not having anything particular in mind to draw, I just let my pencil move by itself.

* * *

_Kim's POV  
(still)_

The bell rings, signaling the end of art class. I sit up straight and stretch, having unknowingly hunched over my drawing at some point. Wow, it seems like only ten minutes has gone by.

"Holy crap, Kim, that's freaking awesome!" Eddie suddenly says, shaking me completely out of my thoughts about how time flies.

I glance down at my paper and smile. Now, normally I'm pretty modest about my art, but I have to admit that the white Bengal tiger that I drew looks pretty epic. **(3)**

"You guys can just show me your drawings on the way out," Mrs. Wisson chirps happily. "Don't worry if you're not so sure about it, everyone is a work in progress."

I walk by her on my way out and show her my drawing.

"Kim, you never cease to amaze me," she says brightly. I smile meekly and walk out.

After a quick stop by my locker, I get on my bus and sit in my normal seat. Jack usually sits next to me on the bus, so it's only when the giant yellow twinkie that I'm riding on starts moving that I remember he didn't come to school today. My worries rush back. '_Is he okay? I hope he isn't hurt…'_

The ride home seems to take fifteen million hours longer than usual… ok, maybe not that much, but you get the picture. I practically run off of the bus when it gets to my stop.

'_Do I have any homework today?' _I think, as I walk (run) up my driveway. I do a mental review of every class. '_Nope, I'm good.'_ **(4)**

I take my keys out of my pocket and unlock my front door, shrugging off my book bag and dropping it onto the couch near the door.

"Oh, Kim, you're home," I hear Mom's voice say. She walks out of the kitchen while drying her hands on a dish cloth. I notice the sound of her phone's ringtone.

"Yeah, where's Dad?" I ask, walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge to look for a snack. I decide on an apple, and I go rinse it off in the sink before taking a bite out of it.

"Still at work," she replies, before answering her call. I patiently wait for her to finish.

"Hey, Mom, can I go over to Jack's? He didn't come to school today and I'm a little worried." '_A little? Try obsessing over all day.'_

Her smile fades slightly, but enough for me to notice. Being a police officer makes her very protective over my dad and I.

"Do you have any homework?"

"No."

"Ok, then, I guess there's no harm in going then."

"Thanks, Mom," I say, kissing her on the cheek before walking into the garage. I briefly look around, searching for the blue frame of my bike, and spot it in the corner next to the lawn mower. I grab it and walk it out, before going back into the house and closing it behind me.

**Ten Minutes Later…**

"Hey, Kiara," I say, as she opens the door in response to me ringing the doorbell. She rolls her eyes while sighing.

"He's upstairs in his room," she replies, going back into the house and not even responding to my greeting. I blink in surprise as I step inside, closing the door behind me. Kiara had gone and sat on the couch, watching something on TV.

I walk upstairs to Jack's room. "Jack?" I ask, knocking on the door lightly.

No answer.

"Jack," I say a little louder, knocking harder.

Still no answer.

"Jack, I'm gonna come in if you don't answer."

Silence.

I open the door and walk inside.

* * *

_Greg's POV_

I grin as I see the brat's girlfriend enter his room. Ty was right about her being worried enough to go check on her boyfriend.

"Oh, yes, this will be good," I whisper, as I pick up my phone.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

"Jack?" I ask hesitantly. He's lying on his back on his bed, just staring at the ceiling. A sudden thought hits me:

'_Has he been like this all day?'_

"Hey, Kim," he says distractedly. What could he possibly be focused on so intently?

"… you okay?" I ask cautiously. I have no idea why I'm acting like he's a ticking time bomb that's going to go off any second.

He takes a while to answer, and that just heightens my worries.

"… I dunno."

Looking around for something to occupy my interest(besides my inanimate boyfriend) I spot his phone on his bedside table. I pick it up, tapping the screen. It isn't locked, meaning he was on it recently. It shows a picture of him, Kiara, Eddie, Rudy, Jerry, Milton, and I all smiling and goofing off. I can't remember who took it, but it was a few weeks ago after we won a competition. Why was he looking at this?

I sigh. He's obviously not in the mood to talk to me. I start to walk out of his room when he calls my name.

"What?" I say softly.

"I'm sorry, I'm just… I don't know, hating my life?" He says it like he's not so sure about it himself.

"…"

"I'm sorry."

I smile and turn around. He's sitting up on his bed, looking at me with the expression of a lost puppy. I laugh and run over to his bed, tackling him. His hands fly to my waist as he falls backwards onto his back and lets out a little surprised sound. I giggle and kiss him softly.

His phone vibrates on his bedside table. He groans, and, because of the fact that I'm lying on top of his, I can feel as well as hear the action. I get his phone for him.

Tap, tap, tap… tap…

Freeze.

_**Donna: R we still on for 8 2nite? Or r u gonna dump ur stupid gf first? ;)**_

I gasp slightly, feeling tears well up in my eyes. Was he really going to dump me?

He lifts his head up. "Who is it?"

I bite my lip. Is there any way this could be fake?

"Kim?"

I get off of him and throw his phone at him, slowly backing away. How can it be fake? It's not like someone snuck into his room in the middle of the night and installed her phone number into his cell… oh my god, he's freaking cheating on me.

(Acting) Confused, he picks up his phone and glances at the screen. His eyes widen.

Oh yeah, you're busted.

"Kim—"

"What? Did you think I wouldn't find out?" I start to back out of the room again.

"Kim, wait—" He grabs my arm and I shake it off.

"Don't touch me! What could you possibly have to say?!"

"I didn't—"

"Don't even try to deny it," I say darkly. "The proof is right there on your phone. Well, fine. If you wanted to break up with me so bad, why didn't you say so? Oh, hold on let me do it for you; it's over, Jack. We're through. Happy now?"

"No, I'm—"

"Goodbye, Jack. Have a nice life."

I storm out of his room, ignoring his footsteps behind me and his calls for me to wait.

I yank the front door open and run out, quickly hopping on my bike and pedaling out of his driveway. My conscious tells me that I should have given him a chance to explain himself, but I'm too angry and heartbroken to listen to it.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

That's it.

I've lost everyone.

My girlfriend, my friends, my family…

I can't believe it. I haven't so much as glanced at Donna since I started dating Kim. And now her number suddenly appears on my phone and she's texting me?! How the heck is that even possible? Maybe it's my weird memory thing again…

Kiara laughs an 'I Told You So' laugh as I dejectedly walk back towards the stairs. I don't really pay attention, but my heart breaks a little more as she does so. I don't think I can possibly take anymore of this craziness. None of it makes sense! I walk over to my closet and open that little secret compartment, grabbing my dad's guitar and its travel bag **(5). **I put it into its bag and get my skateboard and helmet as well, putting on the helmet and putting the strap of the guitar around my in such a way that I crosses diagonally across my torso.

I walk out of the front door, ignoring Kiara's laughter (which she resumed as I soon as I got downstairs) and head off… somewhere.

My phone lies forgotten on my bed.

* * *

_Greg's POV_

I smirk as the brat skateboards away from his house, and I start my van and begin to trail a safe distance behind him. Hah, he'll never suspect a thing…

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I somehow end up in the woods near the outskirts of Seaford. Solemnly looking up at the sky, I estimate that I've been wandering around pointlessly for about two hours. I dismount my skateboard and instead decide to hold it, and then walk into the twilight-lit woods.

A few minutes later, I find myself at the lip of the Seaford cliff. For a spilt-second, I contemplate throwing myself off of the edge, and be done with it all.

But I don't.

I remember Grandpa's old journal entry, and I realize that the cabin that he found (or at least the remains of it) might be around here somewhere.

I drop my skateboard and take off the guitar strap, gently lifting out _Amber_.**(6)** I sit down cross-legged and lean against a tree behind me. The scene in front of me is breath-taking, with the setting sun creating beautiful purples and pinks and reds and oranges in the sky. The waves from the ocean in front of me gently break against the rocks. The wind swirls around, mixing the salty ocean air with the crisp scent of the pine trees behind me, resulting in a fresh sort of smell. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I make a mental note to come here more often; it's really relaxing.

I choose the first song that comes to mind; ironically (in my eyes), it's one of Kim's favorite songs. Considering the fact that I'm alone, I let myself sing quietly with the lyrics.

"_Heart beats fast  
Colors and promises  
How to be brave  
How can I love when I'm afraid_

_To fall  
But watching you stand alone  
All of my doubt  
Suddenly goes away somehow_

_One step closer"_

I smile sadly, a tear running down my face as I remember that she sang this to me while I was in my coma-like state at the hospital. **(7)**

"_I have died everyday  
Waiting for you  
Darlin' don't be afraid_

_I have loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thousand more_

_Time stands still  
Beauty in all she is  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything_

_Take away  
What's standing in front of me  
Every breath  
Every hour has come to this_

_One step closer_

_I have died everyday  
Waiting for you  
Darlin' don't be afraid_

_I have loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thous—"_

I'm taken completely by surprise as someone wraps their arms around my torso from behind the tree (it's a pretty thin tree, not even half the size that normal pine trees get to, which allows them to effectively pin my arms to my sides) and puts a cloth over my mouth and nose. My reflexes lash out a get me out of my captor's grip in a few seconds, and I stand up and get into a defensive position. But, that few seconds is all it took for the chloroform to start working, and I'm too dizzy to defend myself. I fall to the ground, the world seeming to spin around me.

'_Get up!' _I yell at myself. '_Get up and defend yourself, idiot!' _

But I can't, and I groan as my assailant walks over and rolls me onto my back with a boot. He smirks and crouches down next to me, chuckling before putting the rag over my mouth and nose again. I feebly try to push against his chest, but he just holds both of my hands in one of his.

'_Huh. I wonder if anyone's going to care enough to look for me…' _I think, as the world goes black.

* * *

**(1) Don't look at me like that, Volk. You totally saw that coming.**

**(2) Volk, think: Mrs. Thompson**

**(3) The link is on my profile.**

**(4) I do that exact same thing.**

**(5) I have no idea what that guitar bag with a strap attached to it is called, so…**

**(6) For those of you who don't remember, **_**Amber **_**is the name of Jack's dad's guitar.**

**(7) **_**Missing Him**_ **Chapter 13 reference. And while I'm here, the song that Jack is singing is '**_**A Thousand Years' **_**by Christina Perri. Meaning it doesn't belong to me… ok bye.**

**Ha ha! Those of you who care about Jack would not dare abandon this story now! *ducks as Volk throws a book at me* I'm keeping that! *glances at the cover* Nevermind. *chucks it off the roof (even though I'm in the living room. That's the magic of fiction. XD)***

**Has anyone ever wondered if the 'XD' in 'Disney XD' is really supposed to be an emoticon/smiley thing? I have, and it's just... hmm. Anyway, this will be a crossover with Criminal Minds at some point, just to go ahead and warn you guys before I put it in the crossover category. I will do that this Saturday. Ok, adios! (I have a Spanish test today)**

**Until next time,**

**~BP**


	5. Kiara's Guilt and a Talk With JJ

**Hello peoples! I want to give a shout out to _Spot An Appaloosa _for answering my question about Grace and Kelsey. Thanks! :D **

**Ok, the Criminal Minds characters come in in this chapter, so be prepared!**

**Disclaimer: **My creativity is not even a candle compared to the inferno of ideas that make up Criminal Minds and Kickin it, so no I do not own them.

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

I hear the front door open, and a little part of me says '_Good, Jack is home.' _But when I hear Mom's voice announce her arrival, my heart cries. Although I hate to admit it, gone is (most of) the malice I've felt towards Jack for the past few days; all that's left is a sister worried about her brother. I don't even know what got me so mean to him all of a sudden, when we've been getting along just fine for the past couple of months. I guess it's the trust issue that I've had with him; I mean, how would you feel if you've been raised believing one thing for eleven years only to be suddenly told that the thing you believed in was wrong?

…

Did that even make sense?

"Hello, Kiara," she chirps tiredly. She was probably grading papers again. But, it's Friday night, so she doesn't have to worry about going back to the college for two days… at least I don't think she does.

"Hi, Mom," I reply. I can't help the smile that comes to my face.

_My_ mom.

It feels so good to say that. After living so long without a maternal figure in my life, it's just nice (for lack of a better word) to have one now.

"Where's Jack?" she asks, her face going from slightly tired to a little worried.

"I don't know," I reply, feeling a bit guilty for laughing at him as he walked out of the house.

"'You don't know?'" she cries. "_You don't know?! _What do you mean you don't know! You know how he's been lately!"

I think it's safe to say she's freaking out. At least I have a mother who cares.

"Mom, calm down. He's most likely at the dojo," I say in a calm voice. But I don't really think so; Jack never brings his guitar to the dojo.

"Right. Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" she says to herself. She opens the door and walks back outside. I follow her and close the door behind me.

We get into the car and she drives to the dojo.

"No… actually I haven't seen him since the day before yesterday," Rudy says softly when Mom asks him about Jack. She sighs.

"That's okay. I guess he's over at a friends' house," Mom replies.

"You can stay here and call them," Rudy offers. Mom smiles.

"Thank you, Rudy." We follow the martial artist into his office, where he calls Jack's (and mine as well) friends. Here's what we ended up with:

**Milton:** "Jack? Why the heck would that buffoon be over here?"

**Jerry:** "No, no hay ningún traidor aquí. ¿Por qué lo preguntas?"**(1)**

**Eddie:** "No. Just… no."

**Kim:** "That jerk is never allowed to come near me ever again, so no, he's not at my house."

Mom is especially worried about Kim's response, but she's more frantic about the fact that no one has any idea where Jack is.

"Maybe he'll come back tomorrow?" I say positively.

**The Next Day**

He didn't come back. Did I really hurt him that bad?

Mom is freaking out. I don't think she slept more than five minutes last night. When I woke up, she was sitting on the couch with the home phone on one side and her cell phone on the other, and she clutched a cup of coffee in her hand. "He hasn't called," she whispered, when she spotted me.

It is now ten minutes 'til three in the afternoon. (How we managed to get through the first half of the day, I have no idea.)

"When did he leave?" Mom asks softly. We haven't decided to call the police yet, but we're pretty close to doing so.

"Uhh… about five," I reply, thinking back to yesterday. She nods, and I assume she's filing the information into her head.

"We should probably call the police now… right?" I say.

* * *

_No POV_

"So, what have we got?" Rossi asks, not taking his eyes off of the road. Morgan and Hotch are in another car right behind his, and he doesn't want to lead them to the wrong place.

"Fifteen year old male," Reid replies, looking at a file. "5'9", brown hair and eyes. Reported missing about an hour ago, but has apparently not been seen since about five p.m. yesterday… hmm."

"What is it?" J.J. asks, looking worried. The blonde always did have a soft spot for kids.

"He's got a freckle on each cheek."

She frowns. "What's wrong with that?"

"There's only two freckles!" Reid exclaims. **(7/9/13 edit: I've seen the show a lot more since I wrote this, and I realize that Reid would never say that. This AN also makes up for all the other inaccurate Criminal Minds stuff in this fic, so... yeah.) **He shows the picture to her.

"So?" Rossi says, raising an eyebrow. "Some people don't have many freckles."

"But it's weird!"

Rossi rolls his eyes and chuckles. The young officer always got annoyed by the simplest things. "Ok, here we are; 454 Hillrose Avenue." He turns into the driveway of the house and parks. Morgan pulls in right behind him.

"Ok, let's do this," J.J. says when everyone is out of the cars and standing on the driveway.

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

A knock on the door.

I hear Mom sigh, getting up from the couch that we've been sitting on pretty much all day and opening the front door. I turn my head to see who was knocking. **(2)**Five police officers are standing at the door; four men and a single woman.

"Mrs. Anderson?" a blonde woman asks.

"Yes, that's me," Mom replies with a sigh. "Come in, come in." She stands back so the officers can walk inside. All of them greet and shake hands with her, and I can't help but think '_Huh. They're really polite.' _

"So, you know why we're here right?" the oldest looking man in the group asks. I notice that the others are subtly looking around. '_Wow, these guys look like they know what they're doing.'_

"Yes, I do," she replies softly. It hurts me to see her aching like this. She invites the group to sit down on the couches. Two of the men decline, instead asking to look around. She lets them. She gives me a pointed look, and I sigh and turn off the T.V. I stand up and walk out of the room, not wanting to hear their conversation. I start to head to my room, but somehow I end up in Jack's instead.

I look around and smile sadly; this place reflects his personality so much, with the red-orange walls and the occasional Bobby Wasabi poster. I sigh and walk over to his bed, lying down on it and wishing he was here so I could say sorry. I feel something poke my leg; I sit up and shift to see what it is.

His phone.

I tap it. It's locked of course, but I can't help but smile at the wallpaper in the background; it's a picture of him and I, making goofy faces. In the picture, his arm is slung lazily across my shoulder and we're both sitting in this very spot that I'm in right now.

I frown. Wait, if I'm holding his phone, then…

…he doesn't have it.

I start to panic. How could we possibly contact him?! There's no chance of us being able to tell him that we're worried! But shouldn't he know that? Oh my god, this is bad. This is really really—

"You ok?" I hear a voice ask from the doorway. I turn my head so fast that I think I got whiplash. A blonde woman is leaning against Jack's doorframe, looking concerned. I momentarily forget who she is, and ask "Who are you?"

She walks over and sits next to me. "You can call me J.J., if you want." I remember as soon as she starts talking; she's one of the police officers from earlier. I hold up the electronic in my hand.

"He didn't bring his phone," I whisper. She frowns.

"Well, that's not good," she says softly. I look at her incredulously, standing up.

"Of course it's not good! My brother is out there, some where, and we're just sitting here doing nothing!"

"Kiara, sweetie," she starts. Mom must have told her my name. "We're not doing nothing. We're figuring out where he most likely would have gone."

I sigh and sit down again, saying nothing.

"Kiara, did your brother seem… depressed at all?" she asks softly after a few moments of silence.

I think about my answer. "Not really depressed, just… sad. Since about Wednesday."

"Do you know what could have brought this on?"

'_Yes' _I think, remembering the things he did that caused him to lose his friends…

…wait a second.

If he purposely did all that stuff, then why be so obvious about it? All the clues pointed to him. If he was used to doing this, wouldn't he have been less conspicuous about it?

"Should I take your silence as a yes?" the policewoman asks gently.

"… Mom made him start a journal a few days ago," I say slowly, standing up and looking around the room for it. "Maybe it'll answer your question."

"Is this it?" she asks, lifting the book off of his bedside table.

"Yeah," I respond. She hesitates before opening it, and I can tell that she's thinking about the fact that this is a major invasion of his privacy.

"I think it's okay if we're saving his life," I say. She looks at me and nods, before undoing the string and opening it to the first page.

_March 12, 2013_ _12:14 P.M._

_Ok, well Mom wanted me to start writing in this, so… yeah. Kiara said stuff that… hurt, to be honest. Especially the comments about how Dad deserved to die. I had to keep telling myself that she didn't mean it. It's still kind of eating at me now, actually. I'll never forget the horrible things she said, but she's my sister. I won't let it get in the way of me getting closer to her, like a brother and sister should._

I smile at that, loving my brother a little more.

_March 13, 2013 4:30 P.M._

_Talk about a rude awakening. Kiara decided it would be a good idea to wake me up with Mitchell Musso this morning, so yeah._

I giggle as I remember that morning. That was hilarious.

_I'm still trying to think of a way to get her back. Maybe wake her up with a fake bug or something? She hates bugs.  
On another note, the weirdest thing happened today. Someone took Milton's spelling bee trophy from where I put it on the trophy display and completely destroyed it. Then they put it in my locker. That freaked me out a little because I've never given anyone the combination, not even the guys, Kim and Kiara. Maybe the person who had the locker last year really wanted it back? I have no idea. I do know that Milton hates me now, and I have to convince him that I didn't do it. That's gonna be tough because that boy can really hold a grudge._

I frown. Ok, that got a little weird…

"This 'Milton' boy; do you know him?" the blonde asks.

"Uh, yeah. He's one of Jack and I's friends." I take my phone out of my pocket and unlock it, looking through my pictures for—

"He's the redhead, right there," I say, showing the picture of the aftermath of a competition that we won a few weeks ago to her. She smiles.

"Are those the rest of your friends as well?" she asks. I nod, smiling as well.

"Yes, they are. The chubby looking kid is Eddie, this guy right here is Jerry, there's Jack and I, the short man right there is Rudy, our karate sensei, and this blonde girl is Kim, Jack's girlfriend… well, ex-girlfriend."

"'Ex-girlfriend'?" she echoes. My smile fades.

"Yeah… they broke up yesterday, about something on his phone. I could hear them her yelling at him from downstairs, and then she ran out."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," she says softly. "…you guys take karate?"

"Yeah," I say, my smile returning. "Rudy is pretty much a child in a man's body, so we have lots of fun while practicing. This was taken at a competition that we won a few days ago."

"Wow. Sounds cool," she says. I am really starting to like this lady. **(3)**

"Meh. Let's read this next one… whoa, it's pretty long," I reply.

_March 14, 2013 10:13 P.M._

_I just finished reading a couple of Grandpa's journal entries. I didn't know this, but he was… suicidal, when he was younger. I never knew about this… wow. The only person I can relate to is dead. How convenient. No I'm not saying I'm suicidal, but…_ _I'm freaking out. What's wrong with me? Am I hurting my friends? Or is someone else doing something? I have no idea… My friends hate me. My sister hates me. My mom… I don't even know what she's thinking. Kim is probably the only person that thinks I'm still innocent. Is this going to end… ever?  
I don't know what's going on. I think I'm losing my memory or something, because things have been happening. Milton's spelling bee trophy was destroyed, and I'm the only one who knew where it was before that. Someone broke into Jerry's locker and stole Jerry's Abraham Lincoln head chip, and I happened to be eating a bag of potato chips right after he discovered that. Someone posted the video of Eddie dancing with the dummy that night in the dojo. Someone obliterated Kiara's cam-cord.  
Notice how all those sentences begin with "someone"?  
What if that someone is me?  
I mean, I'm pretty much the only person who knew about and/or could have done any of those things. So yeah, I have a problem. I'm probably not going to school tomorrow. It'd probably be better for everyone._

Ok, that really worries me. I don't hate him! Where did he get that?!

…

Oh.

"That's a bit worrying," the police officer says, voicing my thoughts.

"…"

"Any idea why he thinks you hate him?"

I sigh. "You know those two girls that were rescued after being kidnapped?"

"Yes."

"I'm the older one, the one that was… in his care for eleven years." I sigh. "Ty taught me over that whole time period that Jack and Mom and Dad hate me. So, after this… weird stuff started happening, my trust issues came to light again, and I may or may not have been unnecessarily cruel to him…"

"Hmm…" I love the fact that she's not judging me. "What about these other incidents?"

"Uhh… my cam-cord that I filmed him with in that prank he was talking about was destroyed. Jerry has this potato chip that was shaped like Abraham Lincoln's head, with the hat and beard and everything, and Jack was eating a bag of potato chips after Jerry discovered that his chip was missing. There's a video that a guy named Truman blackmailed Eddie with last week. We dealt with him, but Eddie asked Jack to keep the video on his flashdrive. Why, I have no idea. Anyway, somehow the video ended up on YouTube. You know what went on with Milton, but I'm not sure exactly what happened with Kim."

"Do you know anyone that might have done this to him? Because, based off of what your mother told me and what you're telling me, Jack would never do something like this."

"I'm not sure… oh." My eyes widen as I remember one person.

Greg.

It makes perfect sense. He's following right in his brother's footsteps.

"You know someone?"

"Greg Griffith," I whisper. "He's the brother of the guy that kidnapped that little girl and I. It makes perfect sense."

The policewoman nods. "Ok." She stands up. "Thanks for talking to me, Kiara. We'll get to work looking for your brother right away. Do you mind if I take his phone? Our Technical Analyst might be able to figure out his passcode."

"Sure, no problem…" I say. "Thank you."

She smiles. "You're welcome. We're going to do all we can to get Jack home safe, 'kay?"

I nod, and she walks out of the room, leaving me with my thoughts.

Will I ever get to say sorry to Jack?

* * *

**(1) Translation: No, there is no traitor here. Why do you ask?**

**(2) Because I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up, I have no idea how police officers do their work. So, this is just my view on how police officers respond to a problem like this. Also, I know that the main characters of Criminal Minds normally focus more on profiling the criminal, but it's my story so I can make them do whatever I want. People who aren't familiar with the show probably need to know that the main characters go by their last names. And finally: YES, I know Criminal Minds takes place in Virginia. As I just said, it's my story. Don't like, don't read. :)**

**(3) J.J.'s full name is Jennifer Jareau, so...**

**(4) Sorry if their actions and words are OOC, I only watch the show occasionally because it comes on after my bed time. **

**Ok, I'm feeling pretty apprehensive right now because I know that most of you wanted to know what happened to Jack. So, to feed your suspense while you wait for my next update, you can watch the first episode of Season 3 of Kickin It on Monday night. I'm so psyched to see it, i think i might explode! **

**Until next time,**

**~BP**


	6. A Death and a Search

**Ok, first thing I have to say: I LOVE YOU GUYS! I check for reviews every chance I get, and I memorize the number every time. FanFiction is one of the only things that can get me away from the drama of 7th grade. I'm kind of in a tight spot right now at school, not grade wise but status-threatening-secret-could-possibly-be-reveal ed wise. Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I'm not popular or anything, but I'm proud to be known as one of the "nice smart people" and I could be known as a "nice smart person with a weird obsession." Volk (****_I_****_ Win_)is just a plain "smart person." -.- He can be very not-nice sometimes. **

**Second thing I have to say: Blueskyz1o1… idk, I just pointed at a random person on my reviews list and ended up with your name. But, you're getting a shout out! Yay! Thanks for your review, I laughed. XD I could doing that from now on… yes, that would be interesting… **

**Third thing: Alex Christian Jones (Eddie) isn't gonna be on Kickin It anymore! I'm not sure why, I'm still trying to look that up, but… WHY ALEX?! I thought Eddie was the most adorable character on the show. His cheeks were so cute I just wanted to pinch them… you've failed your fans, Alex. I hope you're happy.**

**Fourth thing: In the last chapter, I changed 'Jenny' to 'J.J.'. Ok, we're good.**

**One last thing: I would have updated like three hours ago, but FanFiction had some kind of THREE FREAKING HOUR ERROR and I couldn't log in. *annoyance* **

**Disclaimer: **Listening to 'Ready, Set, Don't Go' by Billy Ray Cyrus. Wait a second...

Me: ARE MILEY CYRUS AND BILLY RAY CYRUS RELATED?! (I can have my "Dur I'm an idiot" moments.)

Lil' Sis:*looks up from her DSi* -.- You are an idiot. First of all, they look alike. Second of all THEY HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME.

Me: Well, just because they have the same last name doesn't mean they're related. What about Kurt Hugo Schneider and Max Schneider? (Look them up on YouTube, they're amazing singers.)

Lil' Sis: They don't look alike.

Me: So?

Lil' Sis: *chews gum obnoxiously* ...

Me: I'm gonna put "chews gum obnoxiously" because you're not answering me... oh yeah, I forgot this was a disclaimer. I don't own Kickin It.

* * *

_ (takes place on the Saturday afternoon that the police came to Brewer house [last chaper])_

_Jack's POV_

I blink.

Where the crap am I?

I woke up a few minutes ago, dizzy and confused, to find my wrists and ankles strapped to a wall. It's not very comfortable, I can tell you that. I move my arms to test the strap things holding me to the wall, looking over to my right to see what one of them looks like. It's a thick leather strip that digs into my skin, and is looped through an indention and a hole in the wood. I also notice there's a longish cut on my arm with dried blood around it, starting from underneath my sleeve to behind my elbow; probably got scratched on a stick or something when Greg knocked me out. The sleeve near it is torn.

I'm more alert now, so I began to observe my surroundings; I'm in an enclosed room, probably a cabin judging by the visible logs that make up the walls.

Wait… cabin…

I look up at the ceiling and grin. Over in the corner near the door is a metal ring (in the ceiling).

The exact same ring that a punching bag would hang from.

There is a single window in the room, and out of it I can see trees. A large table over to my left supports a series of computer screens, and there's a dusty looking bed on my other side. The bed has a small bedside table next to it that's about a foot or so away from me, and it has a phone on it that I really kind of just glance over. I think it's safe to say that this is the cabin that my grandfather found almost eighty years ago.

My grin disappears. Why would Greg bring me here? Did he just decide this would be the perfect place to bring me, or did he know that it has significance to me?

As if to answer my question, the door to the cabin suddenly opens. My attention snaps to the person standing there; Greg.

He smirks maliciously, making me a bit fearful about what he's going to do to me. "Oh, Jack, you're awake."

I raise an eyebrow. "Thanks for stating the obvious."

He frowns. "Hmmm… you've got spirit, I'll admit that." He smirks again. "That spirit will be gone when I'm through with you."

Oh yes, that got me worried.

He starts walking until he's directly in front of me. I find myself tensing up at his closeness.

There's a few moments of silence between us, as I glare at him and he simply looks at me with an unreadable expression. The quiet is actually a bit unnerving to me, and finally I can't take it anymore.

"What are you looking at?!" I blurt out.

His eyes narrow and he punches me in the stomach. I feel the air rush out of my lungs. Unable to bend over, I groan and squeeze my eyes shut.

"Do not speak unless spoken to," Greg hisses. I don't reply, still trying to get my breath back, but I manage to look at him defiantly.

He smirks. "Oh, this will be fun."

**Three Hours Later**

_'Oh my freaking god, how many freaking pressure points does the human body have?!' _I think frantically, choking back another scream as Greg presses down on a certain place in my arm with his thumb.

"How's that?" he growls, digging in deeper with that stupid thumb of his. I can't hold back my scream this time, and I let out a yell through my teeth. He smirks.

"You still going to defy me?" he hisses in my ear.

"…al…ways…" I manage to whisper through gritted teeth. He's going to have to do better than that to break me.

He growls in anger…

* * *

_Greg's POV_

"Why won't you just face it! You're here, no one's looking for you, and everyone that you hold dear hates you!" I snap.

His eyes widen and he shakes his head slowly. "No…"

"YES!" I yell at him.

"… why did you take me, then?" he finally whispers. "I could have just suffered on my own."

"You put my brother in jail," I reply, rolling my eyes. "Don't you think I'm gonna be mad about that?"

That stupid defiance returns again. "Well _maybe, _if your brother didn't _kidnap _me, then he wouldn't be in jail!"

"Well, MAYBE," I say, mimicking him. "If your stupid bitch of a mother—"

"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT MY MOTHER!"

I pretend he hadn't spoken. "—had decided to marry him, then it never would have happened! Now, your life is crumbling down around you. How does it feel, Jack? To have everyone that ever cared about you… hate you?"

He doesn't reply.

"It sucks, doesn't it? And since you're not there to defend yourself, it's only going to get worse, not better."

"That's not true…"

"Well, you better believe it," I growl. My hand snaps out and quickly hits him in a certain point in his neck; the most painful pressure point I can think of. His eyes widen and his pupils shrink, his mouth opening a bit in a silent scream. I smirk as his back arches, before he goes limp. My smirk disappears and I growl in annoyance, turning and walking out of the cabin.

That boy gets on my nerves.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

_'I don't miss him… I don't miss him… I don't miss him,' _I repeat in my head, over and over again as I stare up at my bedroom ceiling, staring at the dots. SOMEHOW, they end up swimming in my vision and rearranging themselves into a picture of Jack's face. Frustrated, I cover my eyes with my hands and groan. _'… right. Keep kidding yourself.' _Who would think that the guy that hurt me so bad would be on my mind 24/7? I think back to earlier today, when Rudy called my phone asking if Jack was over at my house. I was (am!) still hurting _a lot. _What would you expect me to say?

A big part of me blames him for our breakup. But that one little part of me, the part that says I should have let him explain, is really worried about him. Usually, if something emotionally dramatic like our breakup happens, Jack will go to the dojo and blow off some steam there. On rare occasions, he's gone out skateboarding. But, whenever he does go out skateboarding, he always lets someone know. So here's the big question:

Where is he?

The sound of the doorbell ringing shakes me out of my thoughts. Sitting up on my bed, I listen closely to figure out who it is.

A female voice starts to speak. "Good afternoon, 'mam… oh, Crawford, fancy meeting you here… wait. Crawford… wow, I am an idiot."

My mother sounds a bit surprised yet suspicious at the same time when she replies. "J.J.? Morgan? What are you guys doing here?" **(1)**

"We're here to ask you and your family some questions," the African-American male answers. "Well, more specifically Kim."

By this time, I had made my way out of my room and to the stairs, cautiously peeking out the stairway at our visitors. At the mention of my name, my eyes widen. Mom sighs.

"Kim, get down here and stop hiding." I swear, that woman has got like a sixth sense or something because she didn't even turn around. I slowly walk down the stairs.

Ten minutes later, we're all in the living room (including my dad) and sitting down on one of the couches.

"Kim… Are you are aware that your boyfriend, Jack, went missing yesterday afternoon?" the blonde woman asks, hesitating for a second before asking her question.

My heart stops.

"Wh-what? No, he… no…" I can't believe it. Missing? That only happens in cop shows!

…

Ok, scratch that. People go missing all the time. But I never thought it would happen to someone I know and love.

… love.

_'I still love him… I should have let him explain…'_

"He's not my boyfriend anymore…" I whisper.

"Really? When did that happen? You two were stuck together like glue!" Dad says, surprised. Mom looks smug.

"I knew that boy was trouble," she says offhandedly, twirling a lock of her light brown hair.

I stand up, infuriated, not noticing the blonde woman's almost imperceptible shake of the head to her companion. "_Trouble?! _This _boy _you're insulting just so happens to be my _best friend _and my _hero_! How dare you—"

"Kim," Dad says gently. "Calm down. You and your mother can battle it out after her fellow police officers are gone." I huff and sit back down.

"… anyway," Blondie says. Something has changed in her voice, but I'm not sure what. "Did your… friend, have any enemies?"

I smile faintly. "Definitely…" I say, trailing off and wondering where to start. "Ok, the first thing you should know is that Jack and I both take karate at the Bobby Wasabi dojo with our friends Milton, Jerry, and Eddie, and Jack's sister Kiara. The Black Dragons dojo and its memebers are pretty much our mortal enemies. Well, really their sensei, Tyler Griffith. When Jack first moved here, Ty wanted him to join the Black Dragons. I actually used to be one of their members, until I discovered what lying cheaters they were… So I moved to the Bobby Wasabi Dojo instead. And then there's Kai, his cousin. They just really hate each other, but I'm not sure what started it."

"Wait… isn't this 'Ty' the one that took him a few months ago?" the male officer says.

The smile that came from my reminiscing about when Jack first moved to Seaford fades. "Yeah…"

"Kim," my mom says softly. I look at her.

"Why did you and Jack break up?"

"… I saw a text from Donna on his phone." I whisper. Mom raises an eyebrow.

"Donna as in Donna Tobin?"

I nod.

"That's impossible! A few minutes after you left to go to his house, Donna and her mother came over. Mrs. Tobin wanted to report a 'priceless' missing dinner plate. Donna just sat there looking bored the whole time, but not once did she take out her phone. I think you saw their car moving out of the driveway when you got home."

I blink. I _do _remember a car backing out of our driveway yesterday, but I was too upset to pay much attention to it.

"Wait… if she didn't send that text… then who did?" I say slowly.

No one can answer.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

**One week later…**

A week later, and still no sign of Jack. This is actually different from last time because we actually had security cameras that showed who did the kidnapping. Right now, we only have a strong hunch on who did it:

Greg Griffith.

But he hasn't been seen since about two and a half months ago. We have no idea where he or Jack could possibly be.

It feels really weird, not having Jack by my side for most of the school day, knowing that he's not just a call away anymore. It doesn't really help that stupid Laurie **(2) **keeps asking me where he is. She found out that he and I broke up (probably eavesdropping when I was telling Grace) and she hasn't given me a moment of peace in the hallways. She figured out all of my classes and stands outside the door every single time I come out of a room, and it is REALLY creepy. Laruie's friend, Tracy, was apparently hanging around the woods the day Jack disappeared and saw a man dragging him into a big van. She was too scared to speak up about it until now. Hotch and Rossi are going to go to her house and question her at about 6:30, after we've come back from the search and settled down a bit.

I think Jerry, Eddie, and Milton are still mad at Jack, but I'm not sure. I do know that I was a horrible girlfriend to him, and I won't blame him if he never wants to speak to me again when we find him…

… if we find him.

The police are organizing a search party today, but it only consists of a small group of people: the five police officers that have been assigned to the case (who have been introduced to me as Jennifer Jareau, Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner, Dr. Spencer Reid, and David Rossi), my parents, Jack's mom, Kiara and I; only ten people.

Mom prints out a map of Seaford and we divide it into five parts, with two people assigned to each part. I'm paired up with Jareau. She said for me to just call her J.J., so I do. Then there's Hotch and Rossi, my parents, Morgan and Mrs. Brewer, and Kiara and Reid.

When Kiara and Reid somehow get into a conversation about physics, I know that it was a good idea to pair them up.

Everyone is good and ready; we each have a small backpack that contains a water bottle, a compass, and a few other things, and each pair has a walkie talkie to radio their findings to other groups.

"We meet back here at 6:00, ok?" Rossi says. Everyone nods and he opens the door…

… to reveal Milton standing on the doorstep.

"Milton?!" Kiara and I exclaim at the same time. The redhead stands there with his wide eyes.

"Uhh… I heard you guys were sending out a search party to find Jack 'cause he's missing and—"

"Sure you can help, Milton," I say softly. "You can join J.J. and I."

He smiles nervously. "Thanks."

Ten minutes later, Milton has a pack of his own, and we're all in one of the five cars. We wish each other luck and set off.

* * *

_Milton's POV_

"So, if you were Jack, where in the woods would you go?" I say thoughtfully. "Maybe the place where he was kidnapped will give us some clues."

"Well, if he was feeling adventurous, then probably in one of the trees," Kim says, looking up as she speaks. "But if he wanted to relax, then he'd go sit by the edge of the cliff, probably just watching the sunset." She has a small, fond smile on her face.

"We should probably check out the edge of the cliff first," J.J. suggests. We start trudging our way through the trees. A few minutes later, the number of trees lessen, and we're looking out at the ocean.

"Ok, let's start looking around," J.J. says. I step forward and trip over something, falling to the ground with a "whoa!" Grumbling, I roll over and look at the cause of my fall.

The neck of a guitar.

Excited now, I turn my head and look at Kim. "Kim! Doesn't Jack play the guitar?"

She looks up at me from where she's peering into a large plant. "Yeah, but he's really shy about it though. Why?"

"Because, I just found one," I say excitedly. I turn around and point to the slightly dirty brown guitar that is halfway under a bush. Right next to it is a skateboard and a helmet.

"These are his!" Kim says excitedly. She had somehow quietly crept up behind me, and I jump a little. "He was here!"

"Yes," J.J. says grimly, bending over and picking up something near us. "And he was also injured here." She's holding a piece of a green plaid shirtsleeve, with blood soaking half of it, in a pair of tweezers. She puts the scrap of cloth in an evidence baggie that she pulled out of her pocket. Kim and I exchange wide-eyed glances, and I can tell she's thinking the same thing I am:

_'How hurt is he?!'_

* * *

_Garcia's POV _**(3)**

Hmm… hacking an iPhone. That's a new one, even though it should be easy as pie. I've been so busy with all the other things that I've had to do this week that I just haven't had time to try and crack the code. Now, finally, I have some free time.

"Ok," I say, cracking my fingers. "Time to get busy."

Five minutes later, I'm in. The passcode was 11913. I can't figure out the significance to it, but maybe it's just a bunch of numbers that don't mean anything.

I smile, reveling in my victory…

… when the phone that I just hacked into rings.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

_'One week… one freaking week…' _I think. Greg is making my life _miserable,_ torturing me with comments about my friends and family and how they never loved me and occasionally bringing my dad into it. My arms are sorer than I could think possible because of these stupid straps. It's either I stand up (me feet touch the ground enough that I can stand) and let my legs support my weight or let my legs relax and make my arms hold my weight. Either way, it sucks.

The door slams open. I don't even have to look up to know its Greg, but I am curious when I hear the sound of something heavy being dragged across the ground. I look up, only to quickly regret that decision.

The heavy object is a girl that looks about my age, and Greg has her by the hair. My mind starts freaking out thinking it's Kim when I notice her blonde hair, but I relax a little bit when I realize it's not her. Then my heart stops:

The girl is dead.

I let out a choked sound as I recognize her; it's Tracy. **(4)**Tracy is one of Laurie's (a girl that always sort of stalked me before and during the time that Kim and I were together) friends. I never really knew her that well, but I sort of developed a mild dislike towards her. I never wished for her to be dead though.

"Oh… my…"

"Oh, hey Jack," Greg says nonchalantly, as if I just witnessed him taking out the trash. "I just found out that this girl saw me take you. We couldn't have her talking to the police, now can we?" He throws the corpse down to the ground. She lands on her back, and her eyes are looking straight at me.

"This is your fault, you know," Greg states, leaning against a wall. I can't take my eyes off of the dead girl in front of me. "You caused this."

"No…"

"Yes, you did." He starts to walk out. "Maybe this will teach you to be less defiant."

He leaves me in here with Tracy's inanimate body.

I think I'm in shock, because I still can't believe that this girl is dead. I look around, wanting to find something to focus on besides her accusing green eyes. I notice a phone **(5) **on the small bedside table, and I mentally facepalm. I use my foot to kick the phone off of its cradle, smiling when I hear a dial tone. I use my other foot to toe off my shoe. I have no idea who to call. I'm pretty sure this shock is hindering my mental ability or something because I end up calling my phone number.

"Hello?" a female voice says tentatively.

"Uh…" I have no idea what to say. "There's a girl here… and she…"

I look back at Tracy's body against my will. Her green eyes are reproachful. _'Why, Jack? Why did you let me die? This is all your fault. All your fault… all your fault… all your fault…'_ For the first time since I was taken here…

…I cry.

* * *

**(1) Remember, Kim's mom is a police officer. I really did not see this coming until I wrote the part where they knock on the door. Then I was like "Wait a second, they may know each other." So, yeah. ;P**

**(2) Michelle, the girl that gave Jack the balloon in Season 4, Episode 14, ****_Hit the Road Jack_****. I watched the episode again but I never got her name, so… yeah. (7/9/13 edit: I've changed Michelle to Laurie, so just... disregard this whole number.)**

**(3) For those of you who aren't familiar with Criminal Minds, Penelope Garcia is the Technical Analyst for the Criminal Minds Crew.**

**(4) Tracy is the name I made for the blonde girl that always hangs around Michelle.**

**(5) It's the kind of phone that has a reciever that you pick up and it has a curly string thing connected to it that attaches to the phone. Oh, and I know that you can't text from these kind of phones, so let's just pretend that you can for this story's sake. ^v^**


	7. Hang In There, Baby

**I made a mistake in Chapter Two; I put that Jack's passcode for his phone was 11914, when it's 11913. Just clearing that up, but I don't think many people noticed. And I'm sorry for updating late, but freaking out over CRCTs is just… whoo. Spring Break was last week, and I mainly just sat around all day reading (I finished 4 books that week. Boo-yah.). Oh, and if you're wondering about the name of this chapter, I just got the idea for it from the ****_Good Luck Charlie _****theme song. **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kim Kardashian or Kim Crawford. Though I like Crawford better though... meh. Whateves, I don't own Kickin It.

* * *

_Garcia's POV_

I frown, thinking. The caller ID is 'Donna.' Maybe this girl is Donna and the boy is calling from her phone?

"Ok, ok… calm down…"

I've never been good at consoling children, let alone (what sounds like) a teenager.

"Um, is this girl's name Donna?"

From what I'm hearing, the boy is struggling to get himself back under control. "N-no… it's T-Tracy…"

My breath catches in my throat. Tracy is the name of the witness that Hotch and Rossi are going to interview today, her last name being Daniels. Is it possible that these two girls just happen to have the same name?

"Tracy what?"

"Tracy D-Daniels."

Nope.

"Ok… what's wrong with Tracy?"

"She's… she's…" His crying gets worse again, and it breaks my heart to hear him like this, even though I don't know him. Whatever's wrong with this girl, it must be really—

…

Oh.

OH.

"She's dead, isn't she?" I say softly. His crying gives me the answer I'm looking for. "Ok, where— no, what's your name?" Ugh, I wish I could get my priorities straight; I can easily trace the call to figure out where the caller is located, but I can't identify him through a trace.

"J-Jack And-derson."

Oh my freaking gosh, why did I ask him sooner?! I wish computer would hurry up and get the call traced… **(1)**

"Jack, do you know who killed her?"

He takes deep breaths, trying to calm himself down before answering. "Greg Gr—"

I hear the sound of a door slamming open, and an adult masculine voice bellows "WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?!"

I can practically hear Jack panicking. "M-my voicemail?" he says, a little too loudly. Seconds later I understand. You gotta give the boy credit; he can think fast under pressure.

"We'll see about that," the unknown voice growls. I hear footsteps, and then his voice is heard clearly on the phone. "Hello?"

I don't respond.

"Hello?"

I wait a few more seconds before speaking in a voice that is as monotone as I can get it. "If you are satisfied with your message, press one. To erase and rerecord, press 2."

"Isn't there supposed to be an option for listening to the message?" he mutters. I wait a few more seconds before repeating what I said.

"Fine, then, erase the stupid message." A faint tap.

"Your message has been erased," I say, willing the little bar on the computer screen to hurry up. It has already outlined a general area; the woods in the southeastern part of Seaford. Now all the computer has to do is pinpoint a specific location. Hopefully it can do it fast enough. "At the tone, please rerecord your message."

The call ends.

And it didn't finish tracing.

I sigh. I was so close…

I remember the search party that was scheduled to start an hour ago. I pick up a phone — _my _phone — and start to dial J.J.'s number before I look at the time. 6:27; they're already done searching. I frown and cancel dialing J.J.'s number, before starting on Hotch's.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

I sigh, letting my head fall back against the white couch.

"Well, at least we got some leads," my dad pipes up cheerily. He always has looked on the brighter side of things. Milton opens his mouth to say something in reply when someone's phone rings. It's Hotch's, and he excuses himself to answer the call. There's nothing but silence in the room. I'm not surprised. What is there to say?

A few minutes later, he comes back with a grim expression on his face.

"Who was it?" Mom immediately asks.

"That was Garcia," he starts, "our Technical Analyst," he adds for the benefit of the five non-policemen in the room. He sighs, rubbing his temples. "Our witness is dead."

It takes me a second to process that.

Tracy is dead.

TRACY is dead.

Tracy is DEAD.

TRACY is DEAD.

…

Oh my gosh, Tracy's dead.

What do we do now? Just keep searching for him? How are her parents going to react? Who the heck killed her? Was it Greg? Did he know she was going to talk to the police? HOW CAN I THINK OF SO MAY QUESTIONS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD?!

I hadn't realized that I was voicing all my thoughts aloud (including the 'Tracy is dead' part) until I look up and notice that everyone is staring at me. "Sorry," I say, grinning sheepishly before falling silent.

Hotch's phone rings again. This time, he doesn't walk out of the room to answer it. "Garcia?… yeah, ok."

He hangs up and looks at me. "Do you have a computer with a web cam?" I nod, going upstairs and bringing my laptop back down. I turn it on, enter my password, and give it to Hotch. He does a few things and then the face of a chubby woman pops up. Her blonde hair is in a ponytail but her expression is far from relaxed.

"Kim, Milton, Kiara, and Mr. Crawford; this is Penelope Garcia. Garcia, this is Kim, Milton, Kiara, and Mr. Crawford. Mr. Crawford is Kim's father. Kim and Milton are a couple of Jack's friends, and Kiara is his sister." **(2)**

I smile, but I can tell it doesn't reach my eyes. "Hi."

Milton and Kiara both greet her as well. I can tell Kiara is itching to ask about all the technological stuff in the background, but she keeps her questions at bay for the time being.

I sit on the floor so everyone can see.

"Hey you guys, nice to meet you all," Garcia says, smiling a little. "Ok, I managed to hack into Jack's phone about a half an hour ago. The passcode was 11913… huh, maybe I shouldn't be telling you that."

She thinks on that for a few seconds. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Milton's expression sadden. I turn to him, cocking my head to the side a little bit and silently asking what's wrong.

"It's 'Kim,'" he says softly.

I frown. "Yeah, my name is Kim. So?"

"No, he means Jack's passcode," Kiara speaks up, elaborating. "'K' is the eleventh letter of the alphabet. 'I' is the ninth and 'M' is the thirteenth."

My jaw drops a little as I think on that. They're right. Well, of course they're right, they're the two smartest people I know. They were bound to figure it out.

"Oh," Garcia says. "Well… the mystery of the numbers' significance is solved then. But anyway, right after I got in… someone called his phone. Someone that his Contacts has labeled as 'Donna.'"

I grit my teeth a little at the thought of the brown headed… female dog. We used to be friends, but then she abandoned me for the popular crowd once we got to high school. That's why I get so annoyed whenever one of the guys talk about her.

"But it wasn't Donna," Garcia continues, oblivious to my change in demeanor. "It was Jack."

That catches my attention.

Jack?

Calling his own phone?

…under the name _Donna_?!

Garcia pauses for a moment to let that information sink in. "He was crying, talking about something being wrong with a girl that's with him. You guys that know me well know that I am NOT good with children and teens. I managed to calm him down a little, and got the girl's name was Tracy… and that she was dead."

Oh my gosh. This is a lot to process… holy crap.

"He was about to tell me who murdered her when, by what I heard, a man came into the room that Jack was in. He demanded to know who Jack was talking to, and Jack thought quick enough to say his voicemail. I then had to pretend to be one of those boring people that record the messages about when to leave a voicemail and stuff. I gotta tell you, that kid is smart, but…"

"Did you manage to get a trace?" Morgan asks.

"Yeah, but only partially," Garcia replies a bit sadly. "It's in the woods in the southeastern part of Seaford."

"Hey, that's where J.J., Kiara, Kim and I searched earlier!" Milton says. Garcia shrugs.

"But will he still be there? I mean… if he doesn't think that Jack was really talking to his voicemail…" Kiara trails off.

"Well I think I make a pretty good answering system if I do say so myself," Garcia answers.

"Ok, but I think we can all agree when I say that we're tired and we need a good night's sleep," Rossi says. "First thing tomorrow, we'll go and look over that area again." **(3)**

I'm the most reluctant to consent, wanting to go and look for Jack again right now. But, when a wave of fatigue washes over me as soon as I stand up, I agree with them. I say goodbye to the policemen(and woman), Milton, and Kiara, and go upstairs to my room, having too much on my mind to feel like eating dinner.

When I get to my room, the first thing I want to do is find a way to distract myself. So I end up cleaning my room a bit; putting random drawings in my drawing folder (I draw in my freetime), clearing up the slight clutter on the floor, and doing some other stuff.

After closing the window, I change into my pjs and flop onto my bed, not really wanting to fall asleep yet. I turn my head to find the digital clock on my bedstand. The time is _10:37_. Next to my clock is a framed picture that Kiara took of Jack and I. We're sitting on my bed, with me curled up against his side and his arm around my waist. That was the day my Grandma died; Jack came over to my house as soon he heard me crying over the phone. He sat with me and whispered sweet nothings into my ear, playing with my hair (with his free hand) and effectively getting me to stop crying. I'm not sure when Kiara came over, but she did and took a picture of us at some point. I never noticed her at the door because at that point I had fallen asleep at Jack's side, but I was a bit creeped out when she sent the photo to me in the mail the next week.

I smile at the memory, but then frown. Jack is amazing; I can't believe I even thought for one minute that he cheated on me.

But I did.

And I really, _really, _regret it.

I sigh, falling asleep wondering if I will ever see Jack again.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

_(the next morning)_

I'm not sure what woke me up this morning. Maybe it was the sound of the birds chirping outside. Maybe it was the smell of Mom making our weekly Sunday breakfast downstairs…

…or maybe it was the light breeze that came from the window that I know I closed last night.

I frown, getting up and cautiously walking over to it. Maybe I thought I closed it when I didn't?...No, I definitely did.

So who opened it again?

I close it again and brush it off, thinking that one of my parents came in and opened it. I ignore the little nagging voice in my head that screaming _'Why would they do that?! The AC is on!'_

I walk out of my room and into the bathroom across the hall. I flip on the light, glancing at myself in the mirror to see how bad my hair is this morning, only to freeze in shock.

There is blood running down the side of my face.

But I don't feel any pain.

I start shaking. This can not be like that one movie that I saw where the girl wakes up dead… can it? No, that was just a movie. Stuff that happens in movies doesn't always happen in real life.

Oh, well. Whether it is or not, I still scream anyway.

* * *

**(1) I once again state that my knowledge of how police officers do their work is limited, and this includes how you trace calls.**

**(2) Wow, that's a mouthful.**

**(3) I'm not sure if actual police would have gone out that same day, but I can't have that happen because something is going to happen in the middle of the night…**

**Oh, and I was looking at my reviews for Missing Him a few days ago, and I want to thank guest reviewer SilverFireWolf for entering a contest idea. ^v^ Believe it or not, you're only the 6****th**** person that entered one. And if you other people are wondering what contest I'm talking about, go read the bottom author's note that I wrote om chapter 9 of the story before this (I think it's called a prequel), Missing Him. You can still enter. I'll be waiting for you guys' responses! :)**

**Until next time,**

**~BP**


	8. Expaining the Discovery

**Hello, again readers! Ok, I'm gonna go ahead and warn you; there's some major Jack Hurt/Comfort in this chapter, and it's more hurt than comfort. Heh heh heh... don't kill me!**

**Thank you to _Sky- XD _for telling me Michelle's real name (Lorie), but I think I'm gonna stick with Michelle. Mostly because it's the first name of my awesome 4th grade teacher.**

**Disclaimer: **(This is for you, Volk.) I don't own Kickin' It... or do I?

Jerry: No, you don't. *whines* And when am I gonna show up again, man? I need attention.

Me: Well, considering the fact that you haven't even lifted a finger in the search to find Jack...

Jerry: *confused* How is lifting a finger going to help find him? Wouldn't actually looking for him be better?

Me:*facepalms* It's a figure of sp- nevermind.

* * *

_Jack's POV  
(the afternoon before, seconds after his call)_

Greg frowns at me, muttering something about being stupid and lucky at the same time, before yanking the phone out of the outlet and taking outside with him.

He leaves me alone with Tracy's body for a few minutes, I have to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

_'Why are you freaking out so much?' _A voice in my head says. _'It's just a dead body; you've seen plenty on TV.'_

_'Because this is different!' _I scream at it. _'I'm actually here next to one!' _

That shuts the voice up. I close my eyes and let my head rest against the wall behind me. _'I have to get out of here, or I'm going to go nuts.'_

The revelation immediately makes me feel a bit guilty; I didn't even think about poor Tracy. But really, there's nothing I can do for her. I hate that, but it's the truth. I had been trying to figure out an escape plan all week, but I always came up blank.

Now, I think I have an idea. A reckless, stupid, bound-to-fail idea, but an idea all the same.

"Greg…" I say feebly, looking up at him as he walks back in (taking care to avoid looking at Tracy). I'm surprised at how my voice cracks; then again, that's probably what one week without water (or food) will do to you.

He looks up at me, surprised. I hadn't spoken without being spoken to since the first day that he brought me here.

"What?"

"I… I have to use the bathroom." I don't know why, but I feel a bit embarrassed saying that, like a small child tentatively asking for something they know they can't have.

Greg chuckles, annoying me a little. What the heck is so funny about me needing to relieve myself? **(1)**

"Ok. We wouldn't want you to make a mess of yourself, now would we?"

He comes over and takes a small key out from around his neck, unlocking the shackles that hold me to the wall. My legs buckle slightly from not having my full weight on them for a week. I fall to the ground, gasping a little as my hand touches Tracy's cold one. I recoil away from her and struggle to stand up. Greg huffs in impatience.

"Get up already, I don't have time for this."

I use the wall as a support as I slowly stand up, starting to think that my plan would be a failure. But, I still have to try.

I follow Greg outside on slightly shaky legs. He leads me to right behind the cabin, then steps just around the corner.

"Do your business and get it over with."

_'Ok,' _I think, straining my neck slightly to see how far around the corner he is. A feet, a pretty good distance…

…I think.

I start tiptoeing away, gently finding patches of grass so that my shoes won't make a sound.

"You almost done?" Greg's voice calls suddenly after one or two minutes, and successfully interrupting my concentration. The result?

I step on a freaking twig.

Greg's face immediately peeks around the corner, knowing that there aren't any twigs within ten feet of the cabin. When he sees me making my escape, his face darkens in rage and he immediately starts running after me. I take off, running as fast as I can on my sort-of-weak legs. Combined with the fact that I haven't eaten for a week, I'm in pretty bad shape to run. So, I weave in and out of the trees, leaping over tree roots and hoping that he gets tired soon.

No such luck.

As what happens in almost every movie where the main character is running from a pursuer:

I trip.

I try to scramble and get up, but he jumps and latches onto my ankle and brings me down. He somehow manages to twist it a little. I cry out in pain and kick at him with my other foot desperately, nailing him in the nose. He curses loudly and lets go. I try getting up again, but I fall as a burst of pain shoots up my leg. This is bad.

This is really, really bad.

I attempt to stand up yet again, and manage to succeed. I'm only able to run a few steps, though, before I fall again for the fourth time. I sigh, resigned to my fate as I turn around to face Greg.

My fear spikes as soon as I look at his face.

His eyes are alight with a fury that I'd never seen before on anyone. Wiping the blood away from his nose, he slowly stalks toward me.

I nervously scoot backwards until I'm backed up against a tree.

"You," he starts darkly. "I _trusted_ you to just do what you needed to do!"

I shrug, the words escaping my mouth before I can stop myself. "And I _need _to escape, so…"

He growls. "You little BRAT!" he snarls, kicking me hard in the stomach. I let out a choked cough, falling on my side and instinctively curling up in a partial fetal position to try and get rid of the pain.

He bends down and grabs the front of my shirt, lifting me up and getting in my face. "I didn't want to hurt you much," he hisses. "Just enough to teach you a lesson. But now? Now, I'm gonna make your life a living hell."

_'As if he you haven't already,' _I think sarcastically, as he drags me back to the cabin.

**10 Minutes Later…**

"COME ON!" he snarls at me as he flips me to the ground again. "GET UP AND FIGHT!"

_'Should I just stay down?' _I think to myself, lying there on my back for a few seconds. I never thought fighting with an injured foot would be so hard. At least when Kai and Frank broke into my house a couple of months ago, it didn't hurt as much to fight because of the cast. Then again, my hand doesn't support half of the weight in my body.

Grandpa tried to get me ready for something like this, but he couldn't even begin to train me for how much it would hurt to just stand up, let alone defend myself.

_'Grandpa…' _I think, as I roll onto my stomach and try to lift myself up. _'This is his cabin. I have to do it for him.' _I only get as far as being on my hands and knees before Greg kicks me in the side and sends me flying into the wall.

I bite my lip, refusing to let the groan of pain come out; I won't let him have that satisfaction. I sit up and momentarily rest my back against the wall, eyes closed and panting.

He grabs me by both shoulders and yanks me to my feet while pinning me against the wall. Pain shoots up my leg as my ankle takes some of my weight. I open my eyes and tiredly glare at him. Defiance is pretty much my only defense right now, but…

…am I hitting myself with my own weapon? **(2)**

I see a flicker of something in his gray eyes; regret? Sorrow? Is that really possible? Before I can correctly identify it, it's gone. All that's left is his cold hatred and rage.

"See what happens when you betray my trust?" he hisses, punching me in the stomach _hard. _I bite my lip again, but a small, audible groan slips past my lips before I can. My body starts automatically bending over, but Greg just grabs my shoulder again and forces me upright.

"You… realize the fact that… that you can't beat up… a fifteen-year-old boy without… spraining his ankle first?" I get out through labored breaths, smirking a little.

"No," he says slowly. I can tell he's trying to keep himself from knocking me out right there, but he wants me to hear him out first. "Other people get hurt."

That throws me for a loop. 'Other people?' Is it not _me _that he was beating the crap out of just five seconds ago? Unless he means…

I suck in a breath as I realize what he's talking about. "No!" I grunt. "Leave them out of this!"

This time, he's the one who has an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Why? None of them care about you. Don't you think they would have come searching by now?"

"No, that's… that's not true," I say softly. I think back to the woman I spoke to on the phone earlier. Did she really care? It sure sounded like it, but I didn't even know who she was… "Leave them alone," I say again.

"Don't worry," he says darkly, "I'll make it quick." He starts to walk out, leaving me to slump against the wall.

"NO!" I yell, grabbing his foot and making him fall. (Déjà vu, much?) He swears and kicks me in the head, making my world go black.

* * *

_Jack's POV  
(back to Sunday morning)_

I'm not sure when I wake up. It must have been the next day, judging by the morning light streaming in through the window. Apparently Greg had shackled me to the wall again, because I'm upright. The pain in my ankle decides to remind me of its presence, and I groan in pain and shift so that more of my weight is going on my other foot.

"Finally, you're awake," I hear Greg's voice say. I look over and see him at the computers. It looks like he was checking his email. I frown. Why does that seem so unnaturally normal?

"I have to say," he continues. "Your girlfriend is quite the screamer."

My heart stops. He can't mean what I think he means…

He picks something off of the table beside him and stands up, walking over to me, holding up a photo in front of my face. It shows Kim, laying on her bed with her eyes closed. I would say she was sleeping, except for the fact that there's a bunch of blood in a spot in her red-stained hair, and from that spot, it trickles down the side of her face. There are also streaks of blood in her hair and on her face; the bed sheets are also messed up, meaning she put on quite a struggle before… oh god, I can't say it.

Greg smirks at my reaction, tossing the photo on the bed. "I would have brought her over here, but it would have been too hard to get her out of that window, so I just took a picture. Just shows how easily I can get to the people you care about."

I feel myself going numb. It can't be, and yet the proof is right there in the picture.

Kim…

An overwhelming anger fills me. "YOU MONSTER!" I scream at Greg. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER?! SHE DID NOTHING TO YOU! AND YET, YOU WENT AHEAD AND… and…" I can't say it. I just can't. I can't even think it.

"And what, Jack? What did I do besides teach you a lesson?" Greg says calmly, as if he's talking to a child throwing a tantrum.

I close my eyes, taking deep breaths to calm myself down, but it's no use. I can't stop the tears that are streaming down my face. I can't stop the shaking of my shoulders as silent sobs wrack my body. **(3)**

I can't stop the ache in my chest as my heart breaks into a million tiny pieces.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

I put a shaking hand to my face and touch the blood there, and then look at my shiny, crimson-covered fingertips. I hear the pounding footsteps of my parents, my dad as he runs down the hallway and my mom as she comes upstairs from the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Dad asks breathlessly, being the first one to arrive. Mom gets there second, worriedly peeking over his shoulder.

I turn to them, breathing in and out really fast as I try to get a hold of myself. I feel the tears streaming down my face as Mom pushes past Dad and immediately gets out the first-aid kit from under the cabinet. She hugs me for a few seconds, whispering soothing words in my ear and trying to get me to calm down a bit. I remembered how Jack did the exact same thing when my Grandma died I start bawling. I hear Dad walk over and awkwardly pat my back, not caring if he got blood on his hand.

A few minutes later, I've cried myself out, and my head is bent over the side of the bathtub as Mom rinses the blood out of my hair with warm water.

"Where specifically does it hurt?" she asks softly, as she towel dries my hair and then inspects the towel for blood.

"Nowhere," I whisper from where I am in Dad's lap. "Nothing hurts. That's what's freaking me out the most."

Mom frowns. Dad hugs me closer, and then suddenly seems to remember something. He holds up his red-stained hand.

"Isn't blood supposed to dry all crusty?" he asks.

Mom takes his hand and sniffs it. "This isn't blood!" she exclaims. "What the heck?!"

I frown. If it's not blood, then that means I'm not injured. "I'm so confused…" I say, voicing my thoughts.

"You're not the only one," Mom grumbles.

I hesitate for a second, and then tell them about the window. Mom's expression darkens, while Dad looks alarmed.

"Soo… someone broke into the house to put red food coloring or something in your hair?" Dad says slowly. I suck in a sharp breath as something occurs to me.

"Or to convince someone that I'm dead."

* * *

**(1) Oh god, I hated writing this. -.- And while I'm here, let's just say that Jack hasn't needed to 'go' since the Friday that he was taken. Don't even begin to ask me how that's possible.**

**(2) Most of you will be able to figure out what I mean by that. Some of you won't, so I'll go ahead and explain it; Jack is wondering if his defiance is as much as a weapon as it is what's causing his pain.**

**(3) I know, you guys must think I'm torturing Jack here. But, it's only gonna get worse before it gets better. **

**Waaah, I hated hurting Jack so much in this chapter (contrary to the belief of a certain Volk... heh heh. Grass. [inside joke... I think]). I really hated it. But, we all know Jack. There's no way he's just going to sit there without trying to escape at least once.**

**Rest assured my good readers, Jack is going to get rescued in one of the next three chapters, I promise that. **

**Until next time,**

**~BP**


	9. We Found Him

**Ugh. The stupid 'Align Left' tool isn't working. *dodges a tomato* Oh yeah, about not updating... heh heh.**

**Disclaimer: **Noooooo.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

"What makes you think that?" Dad says, after a moment of silence.

I shrug. "Is there anything else that makes sense besides that?"

"Of course there is!" Mom protests. "There's…"

I wait, raising an eyebrow as she struggles to think of something. Finally, she sighs in defeat. "Ok, ok… but why?"

"I don't know."

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I think I've pretty much given up on life.

I mean, before Kim… you know, I at least tried to think of an escape plan. But now? I just stand there (well, it's either standing so my arms don't take my body weight or stand) and wallow in my misery.

And that's putting it simply.

Greg actually looks pretty smug now. Wait, what am I saying? I'm broken (to put it mildly). His job is done.

As I watch him doing something strangely ordinary (checking his email), I wish I knew how wrong that statement was...

* * *

_Kim's POV  
(a few minutes later)_

I sigh, walking back into my room and flopping down on my bed. Mom just got off the phone with Hotch and the others, and they're on their way over here. I look over at my bed stand/cabinet, frowning as I notice that something is off. I sit up and figure out what it is; it's closer to the wall on one side than it is the other. I usually have it an inch or two away from the wall because there's an outlet directly behind it. I would just move the bed stand to the side, but then it would be too far away to reach.

So how did it end up like that?

My expression brightens as I think of something; maybe the intruder moved it on accident! There's a loose carpet strand in the carpet that gets pulled up more and more every time I trip on it. I've been meaning to cut it off, but I just haven't gotten around to it. When I do trip, I pitch forward and always use the bed stand to help regain my balance. I look down. Sure enough, the loop is even bigger than yesterday.

I start to get excited. The intruder might have tripped and left his fingerprints on the bedstand!

As if on cue, I hear Rossi's voice greeting my mother and father downstairs. I rush out of my room and down the stairs, giving a quick welcome before starting to explain my theory.

When I'm finished, everyone just stares at me.

"Um… I have no idea what you just said," Morgan states. I sigh in frustration.

"I understood her just fine," Reid says, shrugging. He takes out a little fingerprint reading kit that I recognize only from cop shows out of his messenger bag and follows me upstairs.

Minutes later, we come back down. He's smiling lightly and I'm grinning like crazy. "She was right!" he declares.

"About what?" J.J. deadpans.

"She had an idea of where you guys' intruder's fingerprints might be," he says, putting the evidence baggie in his messenger bag. "We're gonna send this to our lab for analysis, and the results should be back by tomorrow."

"That's great!" Mom exclaims. "If the guy's in the database, then we'll have him."

I smile. We're that much closer to finding Jack.

* * *

**About another week later…**

_Kim's POV_

_"Sarah…" _Ethan (from 'My Babysitter's a Vampire') groans, before passing out. I love this show; it's got vampires, which I love, but they're not sparkly and retarded like Edward is from Twilight. It's the perfect way to relax after a long Monday at school. The phone rings right as the commercial break comes on.

"No! Jesse, I hate you!" Kiara exclaims. I smile; she and I are both sitting on the couch in my living room. It's been tough, going through the days without Jack right there by my side. He's been missing since the fourteenth, a Friday. It is now the thirtieth. But identifying fingerprints takes about a week **(1)**. It's been frustrating just having to sit around and do nothing, but Kiara and I have stuck together and gotten through it.

"You're not the only one," I reply, chuckling.

"Kim, could you get that?" I hear Mom call from the kitchen. She's making sugar cookies, and the smell drifting through the living room is practically making my mouth water. They're not even baked yet; that's how awesome they are.

"Sure!" I call back to her. I pick up the phone on the small table next to the couch, glad that it's close so I don't have to get up from my comfortable position on the couch.

"Hello?"

_"Kim? It's Garcia."_

I sit bolt upright. Kiara looks at me curiously. Hopefully this is about the fingerprints…

_"I got the results from the fingerprints_—_" _

"That's awesome! Who did they belong to?" I ask excitedly. 'It's about the fingerprints,' I mouth to Kiara. Her eyes widen and she turns to me.

_"Hold your horses, sweetie, I was just getting to that," _she says, chuckling a little. _"They belong to a Greg Griffth."_

I beam. I give Kiara a nod, telling her she was right. "I knew it!" she whispers.

_"In 1987 he was… oh, wait, nevermind." _Her voice has gained a slightly nervous and disturbed tone to it.

I frown; there's something she's not telling me.

"What is it?"

_"It's nothing important," _she insists.

"Tell me, please?" I plead. "What happened in 1987?" I ignore Kiara's confused expression.

Silence.

"Garcia?"

_"Tell you what," _she says softly. _"I'll tell your parents and then they can decide whether they want to tell you or not."_

"Ugh. Fine. But I don't get what's so bad that you wouldn't want to tell me."

_"It's pretty bad, Kim," _she replies softly. _"I don't know how you'd handle it."_

"Yeah, ok," I say, a little peeved that she wouldn't tell me.

_"Trust me. Could you give the phone to one of your parents?"_

I stand up and go to the kitchen, holding the phone for my mom because her hands were occupied. Kiara follows me. "Garcia wants to talk to you."

Mom puts her ear to the phone as she mixes the batter with a wooden spoon. "Hey, Garcia, what's going on?"

_'I should have put it on speaker' _I think, as I try to listen to what the blond techie, (what? That's what she is), is saying. All I hear is a quiet murmur.

"What's wrong?" Kiara whispers in my ear.

"Not now," I whisper back.

"Oh, that's great! Who did they belong to?" Mom says. I smile; that was almost my exact response. Like mother, like daughter (don't tell me that's wrong).

Another muted murmur.

"So the police computer recognizes him… what did he do?"

There's a few seconds of silence before Garcia answers. Whatever she said made Mom stop dead; the hand she held the spoon in goes lax. She puts down the bowl and grabs the phone from me, looking worried and a little pale.

"No…"

It doesn't even sound like murmuring anymore, now that the phone is farther away from me. Garcia's voice is just a quiet buzz. From the looks of it, her news is getting worse because Mom covers her mouth with her free hand.

"Do you think he would…" she trails off. Garcia's answer makes her go pale.

"We have to go look for him again then!" Mom exclaims, looking like she's on the verge of crying. "The thought that he might—"

Garcia cuts her off, talking quickly.

"Ok," Mom says, looking determined. She looks at me. "Should we bring Kim and Kiara? They're over here at the house."

…

"Right. That makes sense. Ok… bye."

"Mom, what is it? What happened in 1987?" I ask immediately, not even giving her time to hang up the phone. She hesitates.

"I probably shouldn't tell you…"

"Tell us what?" Kiara pipes up.

"Garcia started saying something about Greg in 1987, but she wouldn't finish and tell me what it was." I shoot Mom a pointed look. "And now, apparently, my mother doesn't want to either."

"It's not that I don't want to tell you… ok, it is. I don't want to tell you, but only because I'm not sure you'll take it well."

"You weren't exactly keen about it, either," I remind her. She bites her lip.

"Mmmm…"

Dad walks into the kitchen at that moment. "Hello, family!" he says. "And Kiara!" he adds right after. He walks up behind Mom and wraps a hand around her waist, placing his head on her shoulder and making small humming noises while swaying the both of them from side to side. I smile at his silliness; having an overall care-free dad has its perks.

Mom turns her head and whispers something in his ear, probably what Garcia told her. His easy-going smile slowly fades, and he stops swaying.

"Oh… that's…" he trails off, seeming disturbed. He looks up at Kiara and I. "Do the girls know?" He doesn't take his eyes off of us. Mom shakes her head.

"What is it that's so bad?" I ask, frustrated.

"I think I have an idea…" Kiara says softly. I look at her, feeling left out.

"Would somebody please tell me then?"

Dad sighs. "Kim, in 1987, this 'Griffith' character was put in jail for 20 years… for kidnapping and molesting a minor."

* * *

_Jack's POV_

Ugh. Did I mention how much it sucks to have hunger pains? No? Well, it sucks.

A lot.

It feels like my stomach is eating itself, and then starting on the other organs in my general 'gut' area. It hurts so bad that I seriously wish that Greg would just kill me now and get it over with.

I mean, there's no one to live for, really. My friends hate me. My (ex) girlfriend despises me. My sister loathes me. My mom… not really sure what's going on with her. She kind of just ignored me whenever I went into my room on that Friday night.

_'How long have I been here?' _I think. _'I don't even know anymore.'_ I lost track after the eighth day.

Greg walks in. I don't look up, not wanting to waste energy by trying to do so. What's the point? All that's left is for me to waste away, like a half-eaten apple thrown to the ground. And yet, he walks over to me, getting so close that I can see his boots, even with my head bowed.

And then he laughs.

Somehow, that laugh _hurt. _It's like it's a symbol of his power, of his control over me. It added insult to and already wide open injury.

"Ahh… I bet you're wondering what's so funny," he says, lifting my chin up with a cold finger. I stare at him tiredly, wanting to move my head out of his grip but feeling too feeble to move. He smirks.

"It's the fact that the 'Great and Mighty' Jack Brewer… has been brought down to this pathetic level," he chuckles. I hate him more with each word. "You used to be so confident, so cocky, so… you. And now look. You've been abandoned. No one cares about you. You're _weak._"

That word. That one little word…

…set something off.

I got angry, an anger that I've never felt before, not even when I found out that he killed Kim. All I want to do is hurt him; hurt him like he hurt me, hurt him like he hurt Kim before he killed her. But, I can't do much of anything when I'm strapped to a wall. So, I do the only thing I can do;

I headbutt him as hard as I can.

Before she died, my grandmother always told me that I was hard-headed. I wasn't sure what she meant, but I think I understand now, because Greg crumpled to the ground with a groan.

I blink. Did that really just happen?…

…

I start laughing; I cannot believe that I just knocked someone out with a head-butt. Wow. Just wow.

My laughter is short lived because Greg wakes up. For someone who just got knocked out, he recovered pretty fast. I mean, there wasn't even whole the 'Whoa- where-am-I-what's-going-on-oh-wait-I'm-starting-to -remember' bit; he was just out cold one second, and then awake and alert the next.

Knocking him out might have sated my anger, but (unfortunately for me) it just ignited his. What scares me the most that it isn't like the one or two times he got angry over the past few weeks. He's all calm and collected, like he didn't just get 'K.O.'ed by a teenager that's strapped to a wall.

"And what exactly did that accomplish?" he asks, standing up and looking strangely intimidating. _'I'm really starting to regret this now…' _I don't answer, closing my eyes and turning my head to brace myself for the punch that is sure to come.

So, I'm pretty surprised when he unlocks my shackles and lets me tumble to the floor. I try to lift myself up, but my arms give out on me. I roll myself onto my back and glare at Greg, who has a stoic expression on his face. It unnerves me a little; what is he thinking?

My question is answered when he kicks me in the stomach and I squeak (a sound that I vow to never make again) as I hear and feel a crack; he wants to beat the crap out of me. It's even worse than when I tried to escape. He's just being… _ruthless._

What's even worse is that I'm feeling so weak that I can't fight back; that's what not eating or drinking for two weeks will do to you.

Finally, after what seems to be forever, he grabs me by the hair and lifts me up; I gasp in pain. My whole body is aching. His expression is completely blank, but the bruise forming in the middle of his forehead gives me a small amount of satisfaction.

"You need to be dealt with," he says, seeming to be musing to himself.

"Wha—"

He doesn't let me finish my question before he grabs the sides of my head and slams my temple down on his knee. I cry out at the contact, feeling a searing headache start to form as he lets me drop to the ground. His intimidating presence looms over me as my vision starts to go black.

"Oh, no you don't," he growls, squatting down and lightly slapping my face a few times to pull me away from the bliss of unconsciousness. I groan in protest.

"What can I do to you that will teach you a lesson?" he says. I'm on my side, breathing heavily and clutching at my stomach. His boots walk out of my line of vision, towards the bed. I hear him muttering something, and moving something else around, but I can't possibly guess what he's doing.

He comes back over to me and lifts me up by the hair again. I'm hurting so much that I barely even feel it.

_"Punishment!" _he hisses. Ok, I'm starting to think he's lost it. Maybe that headbutt muddled up his judgment…

He throws me on the bed. I try to roll over and get away from him, but he gets on the bed and sits on my waist. I freeze. He can't be thinking what I think he's thinking…

He has this feral looks in his eyes; the calmness from about thirty seconds ago is gone. All that's left is a really angry psychopathic kidnapper.

He forcefully grabs my wrists and raises them above my head, starting to tie them with a rope to the bedhead…

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

I step out of sleek black van that Hotch drove to bring us here. After me is Kim, Kim's mom, Morgan, J.J., Reid, Kim's dad, Rossi, and my mom.

I wasn't really listening when they were discussing whether or not Kim and I should be left behind, because I was concentrating on throwing away and getting rid of any death plots that Kim had started writing about Greg. I'm not even kidding; her creativity is astounding. I didn't even realize how many ways you could kill a person with a fork until she wrote about it. It took me about a half an hour to convince her that killing him wasn't going to accomplish anything.

Note to self: Don't get Kim mad. I mean, I can be pretty devious when I feel like it, but come on. That was insane.

After I got her to calm down enough to convince the adults that she wouldn't do anything drastic, they agreed to let us aid in the search for Jack.

The seven of us are going to comb the forest in the areas that we didn't get to investigate before. I feel even more anxious now because I know that Greg is capable of… ugh, I'm disgusted to even think about it. I'm more scared for Jack now than I was before.

We split into small groups, like our previous search: Rossi, Mr. Crawford and Mom; Kim's Mom, Hotch, and Reid; and J.J., Morgan, Kim and I.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Hotch says after we've all gotten out of the van. "Keep in mind that we're not only looking for where Jack is, but any clues that might reveal his location."

We split up and start our search.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

"What are you doing?!" I croak (a dehydrated mouth will do that to your mouth). "Stop!" I squirm, ignoring my pain.

"Stop struggling," he growls, slapping me across the face before grabbing my wrists again.

"Stop…"

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

Why do I feel a strange sense of… foreboding?

It's just like I _know _that something isn't right. Then again, there's nothing right about your brother getting kidnapped by a psychopath. Not by a long shot. But still… I don't know.

We've been walking for about five minutes. I have to say, I admire Morgan and J.J. for their alertness. They're both walking at a normal pace (as normal as you can walk when you're having to step over a tree root every ten seconds), but observing everything around them at the same time. I swear, between the two of them, every little animal that we've passed by has been spotted. We're about ten yards away from one other, so I can watch them without getting caught… wow, that sounds creepy.

Morgan suddenly stops in front of a tree, studying it intently. J.J. and I stop as well, but Kim doesn't notice our halt.

"Kim, hold on a sec," I call, walking over to Morgan. She pauses and looks up, before following me. J.J. comes over, too.

"What is it?" I ask him upon arriving next to him.

"Something happened here…" he says, more to himself than me as he stares at the ground around the tree, but still effectively answering my question.

I try to see what he's looking at; it looks exactly like every one of the other trees in the endless see of plants.

"How do you know?" I ask.

J.J. squats down. "Someone was trying to get away from someone else…," she states, pointing at the leaves and twigs at the base of the tree. Now I see it; there's an area where the grass and everything was flattened, but directly next to that was some that had been uprooted a little. Morgan looks around some more. "There's some blood on a leaf over there."

How the heck is their vision so freaking awesome?

"So he was trying to get away from… this direction," he summarizes, turning and pointing. **(2) **He cocks his head a little. "There's some kind of cabin or something over there."

"That was awesome!" I squeal. "Can you teach me how to do that? I never would have seen it!"

J.J. chuckles lightly, while Morgan looks at me and smirks, but it's only there for a few seconds before the serious expression returns. "Not now; we might have found where your brother is."

"Then come on!" Kim says, speaking for the first time since we started this search. "Let's go!"

"Be a little quieter, 'kay?" J.J. says. "We might be in hearing distance."

We tiptoe towards the cabin.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

My hands are tied.

"Stop. Please…" I whisper, as he rips my shirt open and gazes at my bare torso. I've never felt this combination of fear, self-consciousness, and helplessness before. I hope to never experience it again.

"No can do," he says, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

_'This is not happening. It's just a really bad nightmare. That's all.' _The pain from him running his hands over my bruises tells me the exact opposite. It's reality, this is seriously happening, and I can't do anything to stop it.

"I'll never defy you again. I promise. Please, don't—"

He slams his fist against the side of my head, causing me to cry out. "SHUT! UP!"

I whimper, desperate for the darkness edging at my vision again. _'Please, just let me pass out… please…'_

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

We quietly arrive at the back of the cabin. Derek peers in through the window; whatever he sees in there is apparently bad because his eyes narrow and he growls quietly. J.J. looks through as well before sighing, patting his shoulder.

"What? What is it?" Kim asks. I have a feeling I know what it is, but I'm hoping it's not what I think it is…

Morgan blinks, as if he forgot we were here for a second. "Um… you girls stay out here."

"What?" I whisper-protest furiously. "No way! We've gotten this—"

A small cry, followed by a _"SHUT! UP!"_

I freeze. That first voice was Jack. The second one was Greg. Oh my god…

"Kim, I think we should stay out here," I say quietly.

"But—?"

"Just trust me."

She grumbles something under her breath, but doesn't protest anymore. Good.

J.J. and Morgan pull out their guns, making silent signals to each other before going around to the front of the cabin.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I'm just hoping that unconsciousness will wash over me _fast, _because this is absolute torture. The blackness is so inviting, yet just out of my reach—

I tense up as his hand hovers over the zipper on my jeans. I close my eyes, feeling a tear slip down my cheek. Maybe that'll make the darkness come faster. He pulls it down…

"FREEZE! FBI!"

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

"FREEZE! FBI!" I hear Morgan yell. My resolve breaks, and I look in through.

What I see makes me wish I hadn't.

Jack is lying on a bed, his hands tied to the bedhead behind his head. Greg was sitting on his waist, but he started getting off with his hands raised as J.J. and Morgan keep their guns aimed at him. Jack immediately turns his body away from the psychopath, curling into a halfway fetal position. His shirt is torn open, the zipper on his jeans halfway down. It hurts me to see the bruises on his chest and face, and the tears streaming down his face. I also notice that he's shaking and I can clearly see and count his ribs.

All in all, he looks horrible.

J.J. keeps her gun trained on the criminal while Morgan approaches Greg and then quickly handcuffs him. Greg laughs, a crazed, feral laugh that I never want to hear again. Morgan pulls out the walkie talkie that each group had gotten and alerts the other two groups that we got Greg and found Jack.

"What is it?" Kim whines. "Lemme see!"

Oh, she's about to.

**(1) ****That's one thing that I know for a fact. Identifying fingerprints takes about a week or two, depending on the back log of work. (And that's if it's in the database)**

**(2) ****I have no idea if figuring something like that out is that easy, or if Morgan and J.J. have vision that's that good. So… they do now.**

**Criminal Minds lovers; I have found a ABSOLUTELY HYSTERICAL fanfic called 'Fanfiction Trauma', by an author called ****_IncognitoGirl1993_****_. _****Basically, Reid discovers the 'Criminal Minds' archive… fandom… category… thing. One by one, the rest of the crew (gets tricked and) comes after getting called over to his house. Reid screamed almost every time he saw his name… the whole story is pretty funny. No, that's an understatement. It's 'Get As Many People That Like Criminal Minds As Possible to Read It' funny.**

**Oh my gosh. Guys, it seriously hurt me to write this chapter… waaah.**

**Until Next time,**

**~BP**


	10. A Slow and Steady Recovery

**OK, I accidentally got one of the dates wrong on Chapter 9. I put that Jack had been missing since the fifteenth, but it was really the fourteenth, so I went and changed it. I don't think anyone really noticed, but still…**

**Also, my little sister was asking what Jack's Mom's name was, and I realized that I made gave Michelle (the girl that was bugging Kim about Jack back in chapter 6) the same name as Jack's mom. Epic fail, and a huge show of my occasional unoriginality. -.- I left it alone, but just so you know…**

**Summer vacay! Whoo! I can update more! And there's been a Criminal Minds marathon of sorts on 'Ion Television' for the past few days, so I've gotten to watch more of it and be more familiar with the characters, because knowing them all by name isn't exactly enough.**

**So. A lot goes on in this chapter. Just bear with me, it's only jumping around so much because ****_someone _****made me make this chapter 4,000 words long instead of my normal 2,000. That's also most of the reason that it took so long to update. I'm not sure if it's actually 2,000 words, because I'm updating from my little sister's laptop, and she has word 2003, so it doesn't have the word count thing. Or at least, I can't find the word count thing. So whatevs. Last time I checked, (when I was working on this from a different computer that had Word 2007), it had 3, 871 words. I think that's close enough. Ok, I'm done.**

**Disclaimer: **I'm an almost-teenager on summer vacation. (I'll be thirteen in two months [July]. Those of you who can correctly guess my birthdate get a shout-out! You have thirty-one days to choose from.) Do you really think I would have time to manage an awesome show like Kickin' It?

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

"Girls, come in here," J.J. calls softly, maybe so Jack wouldn't hear her. Kim is quick to run ahead of me, but I'm still a bit hesitant. After a quick moment of indecision, I hurry forward and grab Kim's arm.

"What?" she asks. "I wanna see Jack!"

_'No, you don't,' _I think. "Look… Kim. He's in pretty bad shape… and—"

"Kiara, please let me go," she begs. "I can handle whatever it is."

I sigh, letting her go. "Fine. At least let me go in first? I mean, he is my brother."

"Ugh. Fine."

She lets me go in, quickly following behind me. J.J. is kneeling on the floor next to the side of the bed that Jack had curled himself up on, talking to him quietly. She must have untied the ropes that bound his hands together, because his arms are now wrapped around his knees by what I can tell. She looks up when we come in.

"Maybe one of you can get a response out of him," she says in a quiet tone, standing up and looking at him sadly. "I'm not familiar to him, so he's probably terrified of me." She sighs softly. "I'm gonna go see how Morgan is doing." She walks out of the cabin.

I'm a little curious as to what would be wrong with Morgan, but Kim hops on and takes over **(1) **my train of thought as she sucks in a breath behind me, noticing Jack's shaking and his almost inaudible sobs. "Oh my gosh…" she whispers.

And she hasn't even seen the worst of it.

I slowly walk around the bed, apprehensive. I crouch down in front of the brother that I hadn't seen for over two weeks. "Jack?"

No response.

I reach out to him, pause for a second, before placing my hand on his shoulder. He stiffens. "Jackrabbit?"

Slowly, he raises his head to peer through his longish hair and look at me. "Kiara?" he rasps in a broken whisper. Just hearing his voice kills me.

"Yeah," I reply, tears coming to my eyes. "It's me." Should I mention Kim? I temporarily focus my attention on her without actually looking at her; she's just standing there in the doorway, struggling to keep herself under control.

"Thought you hated me," he mumbles. He sounds like a scared little kid. When you think about it, he _is _a scared little kid. He's only fifteen for crying out loud! No one deserves to be kidnapped and… that, let alone a poor fifteen-year-old. I mean, younger people have gone through worse, but…

He continues. "That you didn't love me anymore, and that I was the worst brother ever." I frown. I don't recall saying that. There's no way I could have possibly said that. I shouldn't be surprised though, considering the way I treated him that fateful Friday night and the days before. Greg has a way of getting inside your head and manipulating your thought process to whatever he wants.

"Jack…"

"No one loves me anymore," he goes on quietly. "Not our friends, not mom, not… not K-Kim." He stutters on Kim's name, before starting to full-out sob again. "Oh G-god, Kim. I'm s-so sorry…"

"I'm right here, Jack," Kim speaks up, deciding to choose right now to make her presence known. She steps around to our side of the bed. I move over to the side so she can crouch down next to me, glancing at her. Her eyes are filled up with tears that are sure to spill over any second. Jack, on the other hand, freezes up again.

"I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I should have believed you…" I stand up to give them their privacy while still staying in the cabin. I slowly walk around, keeping an eye on Jack in the corner of my eye while looking around at the place that he had been for the past few weeks.

I wince when I see the shackles attached to the wall.

Said brunette has started shaking and, if possible, gotten paler. He sits up and backs away, pointing an unsteady finger at Kim.

"You… you're…"

I frown, worried, but I decide to let them try and work themselves out. Trying to find a distraction for myself, I spot a desk with several computer monitors on it. It's set up sort of like a security camera system, except instead of one screen that flips through many different scenes, it has one screen for each scene. Curious, I walk closer.

"Jack?" Kim asks, confused and a little scared at Jack's reaction towards her.

I get close enough to recognize most of the scenes that I'm looking at, and I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. Many of them are various places around the Anderson house, _our _house**(2)**, including Jack's room, my room, the kitchen, and the living room. Another one is a view of Kim's room; yet another is a view of the place in the hallway at school that the other Wasabi Warriors and I usually hang out in the mornings; there's also one that depicts the view of a camera positioned directly above the table that we usually sit at in the cafeteria; the dojo, Falafel Phil's, Jerry's locker at school… the list goes on and on.

He's been watching us.

Every single time that one of us turned on Jack, Greg saw it.

"No… I — you can't be…" Jack is cutting himself off, never really finishing one sentence before starting another.

I tear my attention away from the screens, my thoughts racing. I don't want to face this reality, but here it is right in front of me. Greg framed Jack, making it look like Jack did it when really Greg was the person behind it all.

Not to mention the huge invasion of privacy. Did he watch me when I changed? Oh my God, I don't want to think about that.

I stare at a corner of the desk, processing everything, before a smallish white rectangle on the floor catches my eye. I squat down next to it and pick it up. I realize that I'm looking at the back of a photograph. I stand up again and flip it over, gasping and covering my mouth with my hand. Oh crap…

Meanwhile, Kim is still trying to get through to him. "Ja—"

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Jack suddenly bursts out just as I whip around to warn Kim. "I saw the photo! Did you come back to kill me?! Oh my god, I'm gonna die…" He sobs even more and curls in on himself, rocking back and forth. At least he's not on his side anymore…

_'Wow, Kiara. Way to look at the bright side of things.'_

Poor Kim looks taken aback and even more broken-hearted than a few seconds ago. "What? Jack I'm… oh." Her expression changes into one of sad realization. She had told me about the red food coloring in her hair, and I think she just remembered it. I silently walk up beside her and hand her the photo, replacing her place beside Jack.

"Jack. Kim isn't dead. Greg poured red food coloring on her while she was asleep. She's—"

"No!" Jack sobs. "She's dead, and it's all my fault. I was defiant. I shouldn't have been, but I was. And I paid the price with Kim's life. It's all my fault…"

"Jack. Look at me," I say firmly.

He shakes his head, still talking about how it's his fault.

I sigh, scooting over closer to him on the bed and wrapping my arms around him. He tenses for a second, before melting into my embrace and quieting down. I pry his hands away from his knees, and he latches onto me instead. I rock us back and forth gently as he cries into my shoulder.

J.J. runs in at that moment, quickly looking around. "I heard yelling—" She cuts herself off when she sees Jack and me on the bed. I stare at her, trying to convey a 'please go away' message to her through my eyes. She nods once, glancing at Kim. The normally vivacious blonde is uncharacteristically silent as she stares at the photo.

I wonder what she's thinking about.

As if sensing me looking at her, she glances up for a second. There's some kind of silent exchange between us in that moment. She sighs and follows J.J. out of the room.

I turn my attention back to my brother, whose crying had quieted to small sniffles. I move a hand up and bury my fingers in his hair. He winces. I decide against doing that, and start to retract my hand when—

"No," he says softly. "Put it back… please."

I hesitate, but I do as he says. I scratch his scalp gently, just the way he likes it. He leans up against me, sighing.

I 'm not sure how long we sat there, me rubbing his head and him calming down. All I do know is that when Morgan finally comes in who-knows-how-long later (probably about ten minutes), Jack is asleep. I look up at the agent, smiling faintly; it's all over… for now at least. Jack is safe.

I carefully unwrap Jack's arms from around me. Morgan kneels down slightly and picks the sleeping teen up bridal-style. I stand up as well, stretching, and starting to follow Morgan out of the room before stopping at the doorway. I look back one last time, gazing at the room where Jack was held captive.

_'I hope to never see this place again. Good riddance.'_

* * *

_Kim's POV_

Jack spent next few **weeks (3) **in the hospital healing up. His bruises and cuts have all healed now, but he had a cracked rib as well. Luckily, the rib was only partially cracked, so the doctors were easily able to push it back into back into place. They told him not to do anything strenuous for a while; so far he hasn't.

Today, Monday the 14th, almost exactly a month since Jack was taken and returned, he's back at school. His mom didn't want him to go, but he insisted.

At least, that's what I was told by Kiara, considering the fact that Jack has sort of been avoiding me. OK, not exactly avoiding as much as it is not answering to me whenever I try to talk to him. Then again, he's not talking to anyone. He only really speaks up when he absolutely has to, like when the teacher calls on him to answer a question or he really needs something.

It hurts me to watch him, knowing how much he's suffering on the inside. He used to be confident and cocky. Now, he's quiet and reserved. He's a complete shell of his old self, going through all the motions of his life but not really putting feeling into any of them. The worst thing is the fact that he's blocking everyone out, (figuratively) pushing away anyone that tries to help him.

We're on the bus right now, sitting in our usual seat. After a long school day filled with whispers and questions (courtesy of our peers), we're going home. Time and time again students had asked what's wrong with Jack, where had he been. He never answered. So, they eventually gave up on him and started grilling me, knowing that the two of us were close.

_Were _close.

Jack's head is resting against the window as he stares out through the glass, not seeming to actually be looking at anything. I sigh.

"Jack."

The glassy look in his eyes disappears as he blinks; seeming to come back from whatever fantasy-reality his mind had been in. He doesn't look up at me, but I know he hears me. The loud chatter of rest of the people on the bus continues on, filling what would have otherwise been silence in that moment.

I pause for a few moments. "Jack, I… I miss you." It's all I can get out right now, but I think it's enough. He lifts his head off of the window and looks at me with a blank face.

"I miss me, too."

I suck in a small breath as he stares at me with the chocolate brown eyes that lack their normal warmth. Even with his vacant expression, they give away all of the pain and anguish that I know he's bottling up inside. He hasn't been able to vent through karate, due to the fact that the doctors told him to lay off of any physical activity. And I don't know how else he releases his pent up tension, besides the journal that his mom gave him, but I don't think he's used that recently. Knowing him as long as I have, I'm pretty sure he's like a ticking time bomb right now.

What I'm worried about is when it'll go off.

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

"… and Ivy was all like 'Bitch, please, I do whatever I want!'"

"No way. She said that to _Donna_?!"

"Yes! I was thinking the same thing! And so…"

I roll my eyes at the uninteresting conversation going on between the girl sitting beside me and her friend that's sitting across the aisle from us. Usually, I sit with Milton or I'm by myself, but the girl's friend was coming home with her for a sleepover or something, judging by the sleeping bag that I can see sticking out of her book bag.

Milton is closer to the front of the bus, though, with Jerry and Eddie. Jerry and Milton still refuse to forgive Jack, Jerry because of his huge ego and Milton because of his stubbornness. But I think Eddie is feeling a little sorry for shunning my brother because he's one of the first people that tried to talk to Jack today.

I sit up in my seat a little bit to turn around and look at Jack and Kim two seats behind me. Jack is staring out the window, a sadder version of his daydreaming expression on his face. As I watch, Kim sighs and says something to him. I can tell she gets his attention. She waits a few moments, before speaking again. He looks up at her and says something in reply. She looks taken aback, to say the least, making me wonder what he said. She sighs before putting her head on his shoulder. I wince, waiting for him to move away from her or push her off of him.

He doesn't.

I smile; that's the closest he's ever let anyone get near him without flinching or pushing them away. If anyone is going to bring the old Jack back, it's Kim. I just know it.

A few stops later, the bus pulls up in front Jack and I's house. **(Ugh, that sounds weird)** I get up, noticing that Kim had stood up to get off with us as well. It's not an unusual occurrence; she did it all the time before… well, yeah.

The door of the bus closes behind us, and the big yellow vehicle drives away. I walk up our driveway while pulling my key out of my pocket, glancing over my shoulder at Jack and Kim. She's talking to him, chatting animatedly. Jack is simply listening, not saying anything. But, they're walking near each other, practically joined at the hip like they used to be; it's a good sign that he's letting her this close to him is good.

When I walk inside, I see Mom on the couch. Sitting across from her are J.J. and Morgan. **(4)**

I frown as I hear Jack and Kim come in behind me. One of them closes the door. The sound draws the attention of all three adults, making them look up at us standing there.

"Oh," Mom says, standing up and smiling. Morgan and J.J. do the same, but minus the smile. "Hello, you three." She glances up at the clock. "I guess the time just—"

"What is this about, Mom?" Jack speaks up softly, cutting her off. His voice wavers a little.

Mom's expression softens. "Jack…"

I step backwards a little so that I'm standing next to him as I put my hand on his shoulder. I can feel him shaking a little underneath my grip. Kim moves closer to him on his other side, and I smile a little as she takes his hand in hers.

"Mom. Tell me. Please," he whispers.

She doesn't say anything for a moment. "It's about the court date," she finally replies.

The blood drains from Jack's face. "…what?"

She sighs. "You know what I'm talking about. It's very—"

"I can't see him again, Mom," he says frantically, his voice cracking.

J.J. looks sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Jack, but you have to. The court has required your presence."

"No!" I think it's safe to say he's freaking out now. Morgan stands up and approaches us.

"Jack," he says softly, kneeling down in front of the boy he's addressing and putting a hand on his shoulder (the one that my hand isn't on). I think he did it to appear less intimidating; if he did, it worked. "I know you're scared, but he's not going to hurt you anymore. He can't touch you. I promise you, even if he lays so much as a finger on you, I will personally break his whole hand off."

Somehow, I don't doubt that.

"I can't…" Jack whispers. He runs a hand through his hair and steps away from the grip of everyone that's touching him, instead opting to go upstairs to his room.

Morgan sighs and stands up, looking back at J.J and Mom.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

"I'll go talk to him," I offer softly. Mrs. Anderson nods, while Kiara goes over and sits next to her. I walk upstairs and go into Jack's room. He's pacing back and forth, running his hand through his hair every once in a while.

"Jack…" I say softly.

"I can't see him again, Kim. I'll just remember everything again." He's stopped pacing, and is now standing near the wall.

"… you broke your promise, you know," I say thoughtfully after a moment of silence. He looks up at me, puzzled. I slowly walk closer to him.

"What?"

"Your promise that you made to me at school that one day. You know, the day after Milton found his trophy?"

He makes a little 'oh' sound, signaling that he remembers what he's talking about, before his eyes harden. "Well, _sorry, _if I was kidnapped and my captor cared nothing about our little 'promise.'"

I frown. "You know I didn't—"

"Yes, you did," he says darkly, stepping toward me. "I'm only _human_, Kim."

I step back a little, the wall halting any further movement. Wait, when did the wall get behind me? I turn my head a little and see the doorway a few feet away from me. Huh.

I look back at Jack, who's right in front of me. He looks really mad, and sort of… scary.

He slams his hand into the wall by my head. I whimper a little, closing my eyes and turning my head a little as I wait for a blow.

Jack freezes. After a few tense seconds, I crack my eyes open. He's staring at my face with something like fear in his eyes.

"… Jack?"

"I'm doing it again," he whispers. He moves so that he's leaning his back against the wall beside me.

"Doing what?"

"Hurting people," he replies ever quieter, covering his face with his hands and sliding down the wall until he's sitting down with his knees drawn up to him. I sigh and kneel down in front of him.

"Jack. You're not hurting me, you just… got a little mad. I shouldn't have made you make that promise, it's not fair."

"What's wrong with me?" he says, his voice muffled because of his hands over his face. I gently pry them away from him.

"The same thing that's off about us all," I respond. "The fact that you're not perfect."

He stares at me with a familiar intensity, a gaze that I had seen many times before. Oh how I just want to grab his face and kiss him right now… but I can't.

…

Well, I can, but I don't think that would be the best idea right now. I feel like he's too sensitive right now (the old Jack would kill me a thousand times over for calling him that) for anything like that.

So, I stick with the next best thing; I kiss him on the forehead.

He makes a small sighing sound. I smile, knowing everything is all right for the time being.

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

The next morning, I set a goal for myself; convince the guys that Jack didn't do anything. Even since Jack has been found, they're still ignoring him… well, except for Eddie. He's said hi to Jack occasionally, but it was nothing special.

So, I decide to start on him first.

"Kiara, what's going on in that head of yours?" Kim asks me when all three of us are sitting in the living room watching T.V. She's curled up against Jack with her feet out next to her on the couch, and his arm is around her shoulders. The two of them are getting closer, but I don't think they'll be dating again anytime soon.

"Oh, nothing," I reply vaguely, smiling.

Jack smirks. "Nothing usually means a lot coming from you."

I shrug, grinning. "Think whatever you want to."

Jack rolls his eyes, but I can see concern flash through his eyes for a second before he hides it. "Just don't do anything dangerous."

I laugh. "Trust me. If anything, it'll be dangerous for the people on the receiving end."

"Uhh… what is that supposed to mean?" Kim asks suspiciously.

All I do is grin in response.

***Time Lapse***

I spot Eddie getting something in his locker. I walk up behind the door and wait patiently. He doesn't notice my presence. He finally closes his door and jumps when he sees me.

"Holy fl— Kiara, what the heck?!" he exclaims.

"Jack didn't post that video," I say coolly, staring at him.

He narrows his eyes at me. "Who else could have done it? It was on _his _flashdrive."

"Jack is your friend. You know him. Do you really think he would? And plus, why the heck did you ask him to keep the video, anyway?"

Eddie's angry expression falters. "Uhh… it's-a me, Mario!"

I blink. "What?"

"Well, that was a bad distraction technique."

"Ok…" That was weird. "Back to what we were talking about. Jack didn't do anything. Greg framed him, and he did the same with Jerry and Milton."

Eddie frowns, looking conflicted. "I guess…"

"No, you don't guess. You know. Jack is your friend, Eddie. He wouldn't want to mess you guys' friendship up."

He sighs. "I shouldn't have let Milton talk me into ignoring him. I told him the exact same thing, but his stubbornness kind of got the best of me."

I beam. "You can still fix it." I jerk my head slightly in Jack and Kim's direction, where they're standing over by her locker.

He frowns, looking nervous. "What if he hates me?"

I chuckle sadly. "If anything, he's worried that _you_ hate _him_." My forlorn smile disappears. "You don't know the half of what Greg put him through."

He nods. "OK… I'm going over there."

I smile and cross my arms, feeling pretty satisfied with myself as he goes over there. I nod to myself, then frown as Jerry walks by without so much as a glance in Jack's direction, but he grins at me and says "_Hola, chica._"

"Hola, jerkface," I reply, narrowing my eyes at him. While a simple conversation worked with Eddie, Jerry requires some "persuasion through fear" as I like to call it.

He frowns. "Whoa. What did I do to get the pretty lady so mad?" He can flirt freely with me since Jack isn't near us to pummel him.

"You abandoned Jack," is my ground-out reply.

He groans. "_¿Va a dejar de hablar de eso ya? Él me traicionó._"

"He didn't betray you! And what's so important about that stupid chip, anyway?!"

He has the nerve to look insulted. "It looked awesome!"

I roll my eyes. "So?"

"Ok…" He turns and opens his locker. "So why did you come over here, yo? I mean, besides to stare of course." He chuckles and pulls at his collar with both hands for a second. I roll my eyes again.

"Sure. Keep dreaming." I slam his locker door closed, and he makes a small sound of indignation. "Anyway, I just want to tell you…" I step closer to him, so close that our noses are only millimeters apart as I narrow my eyes at him. "… that if you don't get your butt over there and apologize to Jack, I will personally make sure that no part of you is found when I tear you limb from limb and feed you to Rudy's toilet."

His face pales, and his voice rises an octave or two. "You… you wouldn't do that."

I smirk. "Try me."

He gulps audibly, before turning and quickly walking away from me towards Jack. Upon arriving a few feet away from my brother, he looks back at me. I draw my finger across my neck. His eyes widen and he starts talking rapidly to Jack; Eddie is off to the side, chatting lightly with Kim.

Kim is stops her conversation with Eddie and stares at me as the two boys talk, as if sensing that I took part in the sudden apologies from Eddie and Jerry. I smile innocently. She shakes her head in an 'oh, gosh, what is that child up to?' way and turns back to the guys. After a few more words, Jerry grins sheepishly and holds up a hand. Jack stares at it for a second, before smiling shyly and raising his hand as well so the two of them could do their "secret handshake." It ends in a bro hug.

Oh yeah! How awesome am I?!

Now to find Milton. I look around, frowning. He must have already slipped into homeroom. I huff and walk down the hallway towards homeroom.

I am now a girl on a mission.

* * *

**(1)** **I don't know, I just decided that I have a lack of metaphors.**

**(2)** **In the middle of our street, our house… is our castle and our keep, our house… In the middle of our street, our house…**

**(3)** **I bolded the word 'weeks' because some of you may just breeze over that word and not notice how much time has actually passed. Trust me, I do that all the time and I end up all confused.**

**(4)** **I know the BAU doesn't usually stick around after a case is solved, but I feel like they have to be here.**

**(5) (Google) Translation: Will you shut up about that already? He betrayed me.**


	11. There's Ups and There's Downs

**Summertime! Woo! Even though I've already said this! I get to stay up late and do whatever! **

**Ok, I've decided to respond to a few reviews:**

**To the guest reviewer named 'Guest' who reviewed chapter six last Saturday: **

I never thought of that. Who knows? Maybe she is Donna Tobin, but I don't think so. You have given me something to ponder about, though. I LOVE thinking about things. It gets my interest occupied so I don't get bored (becuase I get bored often, especially now since we're on summer vacay). Random statement for you: TONIIIIGHT! WE ARE YOOUUNG! SO LET'S SET THE WORLD ON FIRE! BECAUSE WE OBVIOUSLY WANT EVERYONE ON EARTH TO BURN TO DEATH SO WE CAN BE HOTTER THAN THE BRIGHTEST OBJECT IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEEEM!... I never really got that song.

**To the guest reviewer named 'Guest' who reviewed chapter one last Friday:**

Um... as far as I know, I didn't mention any form of anime whatsoever on the first chapter. If you're talking about my profile though, then yeah, I have a bunch of anime favorites. If not, then I think you may have reviewed the wrong story. ^_^'' Thanks for reviewing! Random statement for you: The what if the United States wasn't all a part of one continent (besides Hawaii)? Would we be the 'United States That Are Also Geographically Separated' (USTAAGS... hmm)?

**To the guest reviewer named 'Pazific':**

Yay! A fellow person born in July (did that sound weird? It did to me. Heh heh...)! Thanks for the complement, happy early birthday (like a whole month and three-quarters early), no you didn't get mine right. Good try, though. Believe it or not, my birthday is the same as Leo Howard's! When I found out, (I was reading his Wikipedia page to see if he was left handed or right handed. I never did find the answer to that) I literally freaked out. I scared the crap out of my little sister, too. *laughs* One minute, the room is all quiet as I stare at the computer and she reads a fanfic on her laptop on the couch next to me, the next she's yelling "HOLY CRAP" as I jump up and start fangirling all of a sudden. She didn't believe me when I said my birthday was the same as his (July 13) even when I showed her the Wikipedia page, and I doubt many of you will either, but whatevs! My birthday rocks even more now! Random statement for you: I love cats! And Cat (from Victorious)!

**To 'anaross3000':**

I feel that way about every chapter. Who knows? You might change your opinion to thinking that THIS ONE's the best. And does the '3000' in your name hold any significance? I thought of the Jonas Brothers' really old song 'Year 3000' when I looked at it just now... meh. Random statement for you: Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? O.o Thanks for reviewing!

**Ok! Whee! Disclaimer: **I'm only twelve (thirteen next month). I can't own a TV show. Ugh, I'm running out of witty disclaimers. Any ideas from you guys?

* * *

_Kiara's POV_

I walk into Mr. Nicoles's room, looking around. The tall teacher is talking quietly with Kim and Jack, which leaves me to interrogate Milton in peace.

I spot the redhead writing something down on a paper, probably a class assignment or something. I go over and slam a hand down on the desk next to his head, which is bent over the paper. The action startles him, and he jumps. That gives me a strange feeling of satisfaction.

"Holy— what the heck, Kiara?!" he whisper-yells.

"What the heck, Milton?" I say, mocking him. "What is it with your stubbornness?"

He rolls his eyes. "Is this about Jack again? Look—"

"No, _you _look," I hiss. "Do you know what Jack went through while Greg had him?"

Milton raises an eyebrow. "Something that I'm probably not gonna give a nut about but you're going to tell me anyway?"

"Exactly… wait, what?" I shake my head slightly to get rid of my inquiry. "Nevermind, just listen…"

* * *

_ Jack's POV_

"I love that guy," Kim states, smiling fondly as Mr. Nicoles walks away from us. All of the teachers know what really happened in my absence, but he's been the most supportive. He didn't pry at all, he just wanted to know how I was doing and if I was okay.

"Save some love for me," I say softly, chuckling quietly. She gives me a weird look, and I'm not surprised. We've been a bit awkward lately; not exactly together, but way more than friends. And yet, she's the one that I had let in the most. I'm not completely open with her yet, but we're working on it. What I had just said came pretty close to an 'I love you.'

"Gladly," she whispers. There's silence between us for a few minutes. I look around the room for Kiara. This morning I just knew she was up to something, but I couldn't tell what it was. Or what it is, judging by Milton's expression as Kiara talks to him.

Kim follows my gaze to Kiara and Milton. She raises an eyebrow. "Any idea what they're talking about?"

I mentally sigh, relieved that the awkward moment has passed, before frowning. Milton's eyebrows are creased together in confusion. Kiara harshly growls out her next words, and Milton's face pales. When he looks over at me for a split second, that's when I know.

She's telling him what happened.

I close my eyes and turn my head away, releasing a small puff of anger. I know she's probably just trying to get him to see reason, but it's not exactly her story to tell.

"Jack? What is it?" Kim asks, putting a hand on my arm. I tense slightly at the contact, and she quickly removes her hand. I open my eyes and frown.

"Sorry," she says.

"No," I reply. I'm not sure if she hears the anger in my voice. "Don't be."

"What is it?" she asks.

"Nothing important," I reply coolly. I've made up my mind; Milton's my friend. So are Jerry and Eddie. Even if I don't want them to, they deserve to know…

…right?

Even when they abandoned me?

_'Great. Now I'm doubting myself.'_

The bell rings. Mr. Nicoles calls out attendance. Kim drops the subject, but looks over in Milton and Kiara's direction suspiciously.

I suddenly realize something; tomorrow is Tracy's funeral. I'm definitely going to attend. Her parents know how she died, as well as what her body was used for.

Will my story get out to the public?

Oh god, I hope it doesn't. I don't want the publicity. I sense Kim looking at me, and I force my expression to go neutral.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

I turn my attention away from Kiara and Milton to look back at Jack. He seems to be thinking, but his expression suddenly turns panicked. I frown. Then, as quick as it appeared, the panic is gone, replaced with indifference.

What the heck?

I start to ask him about it, when the first period bell rings. He quickly gets up and leaves, and is the first one to leave the room. I follow him and curse quietly to myself at his evasive skills, losing him in the hallway. I sigh and walk down to first period.

I start getting worried when he doesn't show up after the bell. When he still hasn't make an appearance by the end of class, it's safe to say that I'm freaking out.

I stop Kiara before she leaves the room.

"Do you know where Jack is?" I ask, searching her expression for any clue as to where her brother might be. When her eyes widen, though, I know that she doesn't have any idea.

"I don't know! I was hoping you knew!" she replies frantically.

"No, I don't," I reply nervously. "So where could he be?!"

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I sigh as the bell that signifies the end of first period rings. I know Kim and Kiara are probably freaking out, but I needed some time to myself.

_'Get up,' _I tell myself. I shake off the brief bad flashback that the two-word sentence brought on and stand up, opening the stall door. Lucky for me, no one came into the bathroom during the past almost-hour. I smile, knowing that Kim is going to interrogate me next period; at least I don't have Kiara in my next class.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

I let out a small breath of relief as Jack walks into class. I glare at him as he sits down next to me, and he smiles sheepishly.

"Where were you?" I hiss quietly.

"Needed some time to myself," he whispers back. "Sorry."

I sigh. "Ok, fine. Just… don't leave like that again without telling me. Do you know how freaked out I was?"

"I know, I should have told you. I just…"

"Just what?"

"…"

"Kim? Jack?" Mrs. Erdman chirps. "You guys done chit-chatting over there?"

"Yes, 'mam," Jack replies softly. "We are."

"Ok then!" the blonde teacher says happily. "So, as we were talking about yesterday…"

Jack doesn't say anything for the rest of the period.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

**The next morning…**

The only sound that's heard is the sound of the tears of the people that are crying as Tracy's coffin is lowered into the ground. The funeral is almost over; the pastor had said his piece, everyone that had kind words for her (including me) has spoken, and all that's left is her burial. After that has taken place, the funeral is over. People start crowding around her parents to give them their condolences.

Kim, Jerry, Eddie, Milton, and all of their families had come as well. They knew Tracy even less than I did, but they came anyway out of respect.

I take a deep breath. I didn't know Tracy very well, but she died because of me. This is the least I can do. My family and I are the last people to go over to the Daniels.

"Mr. and Mrs. Daniels," I call out softly to get their attention. They turn around. Mr. Daniels' arm is around the weeping Mrs. Daniels' shoulders. The man himself has silent tears running down his cheeks. I sigh. "I — "

I hear Mrs. Daniels mumble something through her sobs.

"'Mam?" I ask, not understanding.

"I SAID IT'S YOUR FAULT!" the distraught woman screams, stepping forward to cover the distance between us before slapping me.

I hold my cheek and take a small step back, shocked.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT SHE'S GONE! MY BABY IS GONE BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU KILLED HER!" Her husband restrains her, apologizing on her behalf. She screams obscenities at me as he drags her to their car. When he lets her go, he stands in front of her and grips her arms, speaking quickly to her. When he stops talking, she slumps slightly and gets into the car. He gets into the driver's seat and they drive away.

I stand there, numb, except for the dulling throb from where she slapped me. Kiara and Mom are still for a few moments before ushering me over to Mom's car.

"You know she didn't mean that, right?" Mom says after about a half an hour of driving with absolute silence in the car. She glances at me in the rearview mirror as Kiara silently turns her head to look back at me. "She was just grieving for her daughter."

I don't even bother to lift my head, which is resting against the window. "No," I say quietly. "She was right. It is my fault. I should have—"

"Jack," Kiara snaps. "Stop ragging on yourself. You're not the one that made Greg kidnap you."

"Mmm," I respond as Mom pulls into the driveway. I'm the first one out of the car, and I let myself inside the house. I hear Kiara sigh behind me. I go upstairs to my room and shut the door behind me. After changing into some normal clothes, I sigh and flop down backwards onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. My mind wanders…

"Jack," I hear Mom's voice say as she knocks.

"Hmm?" I reply.

"We have to… go somewhere," she says evasively.

I lift my head up from my pillow and stare at the door, frowning. "Where?"

"It's a surprise."

I'm not sure I like the sound of this… "What do you mean it's a surprise?"

"I mean you won't know where we're going."

"… is Kiara coming?"

"Yes. And so will Kim, and maybe the guys if you want them to."

Ok, I'm almost convinced, but… "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Not really, no."

"I kinda figured."

"Ok, well, you have to dress nicely. Make yourself look presentable."

I feel the ghost of a smile appear on my face. "Don't I always?"

I hear her chuckle as she walks away.

Minutes I'm in "presentable clothing" as Mom calls it, wearing a not-too-formal shirt that depicts the top half of a tuxedo and I wear some black pants and shoes on it.

I grab my phone and walk out of my room, going downstairs only to be met with silence. This kind of quiet seems to be a big part of my life lately. Kiara and Mom must already be outside. A glance out the window confirms this.

I lock the door behind me before I walk down the driveway to the car. I climb into the backseat with Kiara, because for some reason she's sitting in the backseat this time instead of the front seat. Both she and Mom look mildly nervous. I frown at this observation, but I let it go.

"So… can you give me any hints about where we're going?" I ask curioulsly. I don't miss the glance that Mom and Kiara give each other in the rearview mirror.

"Umm… 20 Questions?" Kiara says slowly.

"Ok," I agree. "One: Have we been there before?"

"No."

"Do I know where it is?"

"Um…"

"Do we go there on a regular basis?"

"No."

Mom chuckles at that.

"Ok, is it a fun place?"

"Not really, no."

I frown. "Then why are we going there?"

"Yes or no questions only."

"Ugh. This isn't helping," I whine. Mom laughs.

"Well then you'll just have to wait until we get there," she responds simply.

My frown deepens as I look over at Kiara. She looks mildly worried, but doesn't say anything. What's up with that?

There's a few moments of silence before Mom suggests we turn on the radio. Kiara and I readily agree, and Mom flips it to a random station.

_"—ing up next is a really awesome song," _the announcer is saying._ "I always sing along whenever I hear it. Here's 'Just Give Me A Reason' by P!NK featuring Nate Ruess."_

I see Mom grin. This is one of her favorite songs. Kiara starts out singing along.

_"__Right from the start__  
You were a thief you stole my heart  
And I your willing victim_

_I let you see the parts of me__  
That weren't all that pretty  
And with every touch you fixed them"_

Mom sings the next two verses, enjoying herself but still being the responsible adult that keeps her eyes on the road.

_Now you've been talking in your sleep__  
Oh oh  
Things you never say to me  
Oh oh_

_Tell me that you've had enough__  
Of our love, our love_

The both start singing the chorus as loud as possible, not caring who could hear us through the open window on Mom's side.

_"Just give me a reason__  
Just a little bit's enough  
Just a second we're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

_It's in the stars__  
It's been written in the scars on our hearts  
We're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again"_

Kiara looks at me, not singing that last line as she quickly says "Sing the F.U.N. guy's part, please?"

I chuckle. "Fine."

_"I'm sorry I don't understand where all of this is coming from__  
I thought that we were fine"_

_"(Oh we had everything)"_

_"Your head is running wild again__  
My dear we still have everything  
And its all in your mind"_

_"(Yeah but this is happening)"_

_"You've been having real bad dreams__  
Oh oh  
You used to lie so close to me  
Oh oh_

_There's nothing more than empty sheets__  
Between our love, our love, oh our love, our love"_

All of us are singing at once now.

_"Just give me a reason__  
Just a little bit's enough  
Just a second we're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

_It's in the stars__  
It's been written in the scars on our hearts  
We're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again"_

We sing the rest of the song together, with me singing Nate Ruess's parts and Mom and Kiara singing P!NK's.

_"I never stopped__  
You're still written in the scars on my heart  
Your not broken just bent and we can learn to love again_

Oh tears ducts and rust  
I'll fix it for us  
We're collecting dust but our love's enough

_You're holding it in__  
You're pouring a drink  
No nothing is as bad as it seems  
We'll come clean_

_Just give me a reason__  
Just a little bit's enough  
Just a second we're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

_It's in the stars__  
It's been written in the scars on our hearts  
We're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

_Just give me a reason,  
Just a little bit's enough,  
Just a second we're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

_It's in the stars__  
It's been written in the scars on our hearts  
We're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

_Oh,  
We can learn to love again_

_Oh oh  
We can learn to love again_

_Oh, and we're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again"_

"Have you two ever considered a singing career?" Mom asked, slightly out of breath from singing.

"I definitely have, but Jack here is too much of a wimp to sing in front of people," Kiara teases looking over at me.

We pull into a big parking lot. I'm looking out the window trying to identify the large building in front of us as I make my reply; "I'm not a wimp, I'm just…" I trail off as I see the big white letters that show the name of the building:

'**SEAFORD COURTHOUSE**'

I feel myself pale, and my voice drops down to a whisper. "Mom?…"

She sighs. "Yes?"

"Please don't tell me today is…"

"The court trial," Kiara says softly. "I'm sorry Jack. Your presence was required."

"Is he?..." I can't finish my question.

Kiara nods grimly.

* * *

**Yeah... I'm probably gonna end up fast-forwarding to the end of the trail or hearing or whatever it's called because I don't have a clear idea what goes on in there. But, I think this was an eventful chapter. What about you? Tell me in a review! I swear, I get high off of those things! And they can be an early birthday present from you guys! XD**

**Until next time,**

BP


	12. The Trial

**Ok, so I was in the Criminal Minds/Kickin' It crossover archive a few days ago, and as I was scrolling down the page, I was like "Hey! Needing Them isn't here!" so I came back and realized that I didn't save the changes that I made when I made this a crossover fic with Criminal Minds. Hopefully it's in the right archive now. :) **

**And lookie lookie! I Win has made an appearance after almost a month of suspended animation. You can't be better than ever if you were never good in the first place. ^^ On a lighter note, how's Kevin? I miss that kid.**

**Onto a different subject; how many people saw the new Kickin' It episode? It was so funny, I almost died laughing.**

**Disclaimer: **Still not any different from last time.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

I groan in frustration as I get up from Jerry's side on the bench and start pacing again for what must be the millionth time. "What's taking so long?!"

"Kim, we'll be extremely lucky if the trial is even finished by the end of the day. A trial can last anywhere from three days a couple of weeks, maybe even a month," Milton says.

I groan at the news. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Unfortunately, no."

I sigh. Milton, Jerry, and Eddie had all come to be present for Greg's trial, only to find out that we weren't allowed inside. Why? I have no idea.

"It's all good, though," Jerry says. "We can just chill out here."

"Well, we've been _'chilling out here' _for an hour and a half!" I snap at him. When I see his hurt expression, I apologize.

"Let's just try to look on the bright side of things, you guys," Eddie says, trying to be optimistic.

"What bright side?" I ask.

"… I don't have a solution for everything," he huffs. "Just be glad I contributed." I laugh a little even though he was completely serious.

"Kim, you're gonna drive yourself insane if you keep pacing like that, and probably even the rest of us as well," Milton states, shaking his head.

I sigh, thinking back to when Jack arrived here with Kiara and his mom a while ago. He looked really freaked out, which meant that he had figured out what he was here for. I'll (guiltily) admit that I'm the one that suggested not telling him that he was being brought here, because he probably would have refused to come if we did otherwise.

"Kim?" he said upon seeing me, looking betrayed. "You knew about this?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry," I said to him. "It's the only way you would have come here."

"You don't know that," he replied. I stared at him for a few seconds, and he sighed. "OK, maybe you did. But I don't wanna see him again, Kim. I… I'm scared."

I'm not sure if I'd ever heard him admit that before. Maybe I had, but what did it matter? The fact that he even thought about saying it was enough. I pulled him into a hug right then, letting him rest his chin on top of my head as he sought comfort from me. We stood there like that for a few minutes before Mrs. Andserson came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's time, Jack," she said softly.

He slowly separated himself from me, his eyes closed and his expression unreadable. He takes a slow, deep breath. When he opened his eyes, I saw the familiar glint of determination within them, and I smiled faintly. He started walking off with his Mom.

"I'll be waiting," I say quietly as he disappears into the court room.

That was ages ago… ok, fine, an hour and forty-five minutes ago, but still. God, I wish they were finished already.

I go back to the bench and sit down again, resting my head on Milton's shoulder, as my mind wanders. What might Greg be saying in there? What evidence could he possibly bring forward that would prove his innocence? It's not like he can say that Jack is lying…

… can he?

I frown, wanting to ask Milton but at the same time not wanting to. I sit there debating the pros and cons of asking him, before realizing that there are no cons.

"Milton?" I call, suddenly aware that he had lightly rested his head on top mine at some point. I smile at the gesture; besides Jack, Milton's the one that I'm the closest to out of the other Wasabi Warriors. He's pretty much the brother I never had, always there to offer me advice and worry over me like my mother does. And then there's the fact that he and Kiara are two of the smartest people I know, so any question involving factual information will, 99.9% of the time, be answered by one of them.

I frown again when he doesn't answer me, and move my head slightly so that I'm looking up at him; he's asleep. I blink, get out my phone, which was in my jacket pocket. I've been sitting here just thinking about whatever for about thirty minutes.

Ok, then.

I sigh and decide to follow his example, bringing my legs up next to me on the bench and closing my eyes.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

The ride home was completely silent. Again. There was no radio, no mindless chatter, no nothing. The court trial was absolute torture. He was found guilty, so I'm glad for that, but when he was talking… Greg described precisely what he wanted to do to me. In exact detail.

As if just seeing him wasn't bad enough.

And the worst thing? He was looking directly at me as he spoke, with this horrible smirk on his face, like he knew something that I didn't. I'm surprised I didn't bolt out of there.

I think I unconsciously put on some kind of mask to hide my emotions as I walked out of that courtroom. Kim and Milton were asleep, and Eddie and Jerry were both watching something on Jerry's iPhone. The two of them stood up as we walked out.

"He was found guilty," Kiara said softly.

"That's great!" Milton, awakened when Jerry stood up, said. Kim, on the other hand, was still sleeping soundly. She deserves it, too. She really had been trying to make it up to me, and the stress of the week has been enough to keep anyone awake. at night.

I feel myself untense a bit as I watch her sleep. I walk over to the empty space next to her on the bench. Milton gently lifts her off of him and leans her against my side. As if trying to help, she snuggles into me and buries her face halfway into my arm. I smile tiredly, resting my head on top of hers.

"Aww," Kiara coos, "how adorable."

I playfully glare at her, and she laughs. Unfortunately, the sound wakes Kim up.

"Wuzgoinon?" she asks sleepily.

"Court trial is over," I reply. I feel my slightly improved mood darken again as I remember the past few hours. "Greg was guilty."

"That's great," she replies, but she doesn't smile."So why are you all depressed?"

Even when she's half asleep, she can still read me like an open book.

"Nothing!" I say a little too quickly. I stand up, taking care to make sure she doesn't fall from the abruptness of it. "Come on. Let's go home."

I start walking down the hallway towards the exit.

* * *

_Kim's POV_

"…and Catherine told him off. We had a good laugh about it later," Mom says, chuckling. Eddie's mother makes a dismissive sound.

"Please. He had it coming," she says offhandedly, but still giggling.

The other mothers in the room laugh. I roll my eyes and sigh. Mrs. Martinez, Mrs. Krupnick, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Brewer, and my mom had all gathered in the Brewer living room and were all gossiping about whatever came to mind. Apparently, since the court trial had come and gone, everything was all fine and dandy now. The others, with the exception of Jack, are all at the dojo. I had decided to stay with Jack…

…wait a second.

Stay with Jack.

Why the heck haven't I gone upstairs? I could have been hanging out with him in his room this whole time. I really hate dumb blond jokes, but I think that was worthy of a jab at my hair color.

"Mom, I'm going upstairs," I say, standing up off the couch.

"Ok," she says in an 'I'm-not-really-paying-attention-so-do-whatever-yo u-want' tone as she laughs at something that Jerry's mom said.

I smile, before jogging over to the stairway and going up the stairs. I find his door opened just the smallest bit, and I push it open.

He's on his bed, with one leg drawn up to him as he writes in a book that I recognize as his journal. His back is resting against the wall next to the bed.

"Hey, Jack," I greet him, stepping into the room.

He looks up. I see a flash of a pained expression before it disappears, and he smiles. "Hey, Kim. What took you so long to get up here?"

Ok, now it's official; something's up. I can hear it in his voice.

I go over and sit down in front of him, pretending that I don't suspect anything. "It took me a while to realize that I didn't have to stay down there."

We both laugh, before I get serious. "Ok. What's going on?"

His fake confusion would have convinced anyone but me. "What do you mean?" The way that he draws his journal close to him and closes it does not escape my notice. I scoot over so that I'm next to him, resting my back on the wall behind us.

"Jack. Come on. I'm your best friend. We've been through a ton of crap. Are you really gonna hold back on me now?"

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, looking away from me. "…he said… the worst things…"

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that "he" is Greg.

"It doesn't matter what he said, Jack," I say. "He's going to jail now. He can't get you anymore."

"You don't know that," he whispers, his voice wavering. I sigh in frustration and cup his face in my hands, turning it towards me. I ignore his slightly puffy red eyes and the tears streaking down his face.

"Yes, I do know that. He's in jail. Forever. He _can't get_ _you_."

"But—"

I lean forward and press my lips against his, letting my eyes slide closed. He seems shy at first, tentative as he brings up a hand and cups my jaw. One of my hands move down and hook on his neck, pulling him a little closer. The other one moves down to cover his free hand, which is resting on my leg.

"Kim…" he murmurs when we break apart slighty for air, our foreheads touching.

"Shh, it's ok…" I whisper back, staring into his half-lidded chocolate brown eyes. I push my lips back against his, tracing my tounge against his bottom lip lightly. What ever confidence he seemed to lack about thirty seconds ago suddenly appears. He pushes against me a little harder and tilts his head, letting me deepen the kiss.

I rest my head on his chest when we break apart again, both of us panting slightly. He stretches out his legs and pulls me into his lap, hugging me close to him. I'll be perfectly content to just stay in his arms like this forever.

Sadly, fate doesn't wish for that to happen.

"Hey, Kim, we're going home," I hear Mom's voice say. Judging by how close her voice sounds, she had poked her head into the room.

I make a whining sound and hide my face in Jack's chest, as if he was going to protect me from my mother. I can feel his chuckle more than I can hear it.

"Kim, go with your mom," he says. "You can see me at school tomorrow."

I groan. I had completely forgotten about school. Why should we have to go to school? Why the heck is the world continuing on like normal when Jack ISN'T?

…

Ok, I'll admit, what happened to Jack isn't exactly breaking news because it happens _a lot, _but still!

I realize that I'm sulking when I hear Mom laugh and say something about letting me stay over. I feel my mood brighten immediately. "Yay!"

She chuckles again and retreats from the room, muttering something about how adorable we are.

I huff. "I am not adorable."

"You are when you're indignant."

* * *

**Ok, bad ending to a long overdue chapter. I don't think Jack would ever say the word 'indignant.' Sowwie! ^^ I still love you guys! But I have a life too, even if certain people (I Win) might say otherwise.**

**Hopefully I can update next week. **

**Until next time,**

**~BP**


	13. Sadness and Comfort

**Thanks to the four people that reviewed last chapter!**

**SwiftStar1: **Thanks! I thought the same thing! ^v^

**KarateGirl77: **Yay! I'm glad you think that! Say, you wouldnt' happen to be Kim in disguise, would you? O.o

**swagmasterlol: **Lol, I thought that part was hilarious! XD. Though I'm not sure where the 'BRUTHA FROM ANUTHA MUTHA!' thing came from, I'd like to thank you for the idea. I had no idea what to do for this chapter until you reviewed. SEE PEOPLE?! REVIEWS _**DO**_ HELP.

**AnAross3000: **I agree. Cousins can be very strange at times. I have one that sleeps with his eyes half open. It's really creepy.

**Ok! Disclaimer time!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kickin' It, _'How to Save A Life' _by The Fray, or _'Pretty Brown Eyes' _by Cody Simpson.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

_'Ugh. Nature calls.' _I think, as I raise my hand to ask for a restroom pass. Kim looks over at me in concern, and I shake my head and mouth 'restroom' to her. She nods in understanding.

When I catch Ms. Applebaum's attention (she's talking about foods in different ethnic groups), I point at the door. She nods. I stand up and walk out the door, grabbing the restroom pass as I go.

A few minutes later, as I walk out of the restroom, I decide to take a different route back to the room just for the heck of it.

This way that I'm going runs through the main hallway where the lockers of my friends and I are. As I pass by my locker, I see the white corner of a piece of paper sticking out of one of the slits. I frown, grabbing it and revealing a folded piece of paper.

_'Déjà vu much?' _I think. I really, _really _don't want to open this. But the curiosity is going to kill me eventually, so…

_IT'S YOUR FAULT TRACY'S DEAD.  
__YOU'RE A SICK MONSTER._

I feel my hands start shaking. This can not be happening. I lean my back against the locker and slide down to the floor.

Mrs. Daniels' voice echoes in my head.

_'IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT SHE'S GONE! MY BABY IS GONE BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU KILLED HER!'_

Tracy's empty eyes are right in front of me, staring at me, blaming me. How did she get here? She's dead! And it's my fault!

She stares at me.

I can't breathe.

My chest hurts.

She's doing this.

She wants to make me pay.

I'm gonna die.

* * *

_Milton's POV_

Ms. Applebaum lets us go, and we start doing the assignment. But, before I can even write my name on the paper, she calls me up to her desk.

"Yes, 'mam?" I ask upon arriving.

"I think you should go check on Jack. He's been gone for a while, and I'm afraid something might have happened…"

"Something like what?" I ask, confused. "The school is perfectly… oh"

She nods. "Yeah. I would send Kim or Kiara, but they're girls. And Jerry and Eddie are… well…"

"I understand. I'll go and check on him."

"Thank you, Milton. Here, let me write you a pass."

She scrawls down a few words on a sticky note and signs it, and then hands it to me.

"Bring him back to class, ok?"

"Yes, 'mam."

I leave the room, starting the short journey down to the restroom.

"Jack?" I call, poking my head into the tiled room. My voice echoes slightly off the white walls. I listen for any sign of someone in there, but I don't hear anything. Shrugging, I walk out and wonder where else he could have gone.

"Stopped by his locker maybe?" I muse to myself, turning around the corner and gasping slightly.

There, sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees, is Jack.

I hurry over to him and crouch down next to him. He doesn't even acknowledge my presence as I near him. He's shaking, with tears streaming down his cheeks as he stares wide-eyed at the air in front of him. Sweat beads on his forehead, and he takes quick, short breaths. I curse quietly to myself as I recognize the signs of a panic attack.

I look around him to find what set off the attack. Most times finding and getting rid of the cause will help the victim calm down. I spot a white piece of paper clutched tightly in his hand and I grab it, prying it out of his clenched fingers and not even bothering to open it. He relaxes just the tiniest bit.

I take a deep breath; the source of the fear has been eliminated, so now there's calming him down and getting him to breath. That proves to be a challenge as he starts clawing at his chest, gasping and babbling. He kicks out at the air in front of him, defending himself from something that isn't there.

"Stop… stop it… I'm sorry!… Please… Tracy!… I can't breathe!"

Ok, now I have almost no idea what to do. I know I shouldn't restrain him, because that will probably freak him out even more, but he's going to hurt himself if he keeps doing that. My heart is hurting for my friend, who's almost always had my back since day one. So, I try soothing him. I mentally groan when my phone buzzes twice.

"Jack. Listen to me. It's ok," I say gently, slowly reaching backwards and slipping out my phone.

He shakes his head. "No… she's mad at me… gonna kill me…"

"It's ok, Jack," I say again, glancing down at the screen. I have a text from Kim and Kiara, both of them asking what's going on and why aren't we back yet. "She's not gonna get you. I need you to take deep breaths for me. And stop hurting yourself. Can you do that?"

I talk slowly as I reply to Kiara, thinking that she would understand the situation better. _'Jack havin panic attak. Tell Ms. A & get nurse out 2 main h/way by his locker.' _Normally, I don't believe in the shortened words and symbols that today's youth had resorted to as a way of messaging, but this is an urgent situation and I needed to get the message to her fast.

"I'm a monster…"

"No you're not, Jack. You're so much better than that. You help people, not hurt them." I try and figure out something to say that's familiar. "Holy Christmas Nuts." For once, I feel stupid saying that.

"…Milton?…"

I want to cry at how broken he sounds as he slowly turns his head in my direction. I'm not sure if he actually sees me, but it's a good sign that I'm getting through to him. His shaking ceases and he stops and clawing at himself.

"That's right. It's me. Milton. Your friend. I'm here, Jack. You gotta breathe for me, buddy. I'll count for you."

"I can't… she won't let me…" he murmurs. He leans into me a little. I take that as a good sign.

"Yes, you can," I say firmly, hoping I'm not being too harsh on him. "Come on, Jack. I'm going to count. Breathe in, slowly, while I count to two."

He screws his eyes shut. "It hurts, Milton. She's hurting me."

I hear a sudden choked sob, and I look up and see Kim, Kiara, Ms. Applebaum, and the nurse. Kim has her hand over her mouth, and looks like she wants to cry. I put my finger to my lips. Unfortunately, Jack heard Kim.

"That's her!" he says, shaking again. "She's crying 'cuz I killed her! She's sad…"

"No, Jack. I promise you, she's not here. Please, Jack, I need you to breath for me."

After a second, He starts to take a slow, shuddering breath.

"One… two. Good. Now breathe out for two. One… two. You're doing great, Jack. Can you do it again?"

* * *

_Kim's POV_

About fifteen minutes later, Jack has sufficiently calmed down. We're in the nurse's office now, and he's on the bed with his head resting against the wall behind him. He has his right leg drawn up to him with his right arm resting on it. His left hand is on his stomach.

I'm sitting on a chair next to the bed. Milton and Ms. Applebaum had gone back to class.

"Well, Jack," the nurse says, turning towards him in her little spinny chair. "You had a mildly severe panic attack. You might want to check with your doctor in case it happens again, because it probably will."

Jack opens his eyes and stares at the short woman, incredulous. "What?! This could happen _again?! _Once was terrifying enough!"

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's most likely the result of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder."

"Post tr— what?"

"PTSD," Kiara says. "Post-traumatic stress disorder. It usually occurs after someone has experienced one or more traumatic events…"

Kiara's explanation goes in one ear and out the other as I absentmindedly mess with a charm bracelet that Jack had given me on my birthday last year. Its charms are interchangeable, and I can switch them however I wish. It can hold four charms at once, but I have a small box of them at home. Each one is linked to a specific memory; a broken heart with band-aid on it that represents the day my grandma died, a cotton candy thing for our first date at the amusement park, a silver film reel that shows the time that I starred in a movie **(1)** and so on and so on.

It was terrifying, watching Jack all broken like that. Ever since we became friends, he's been my rock, my constant, my grip on reality. When we started dating, it only got better. But now? Now, it's just…

…me being afraid that our relationship — not just the romantic, but our friendship as well — will never be the same again. It's already bad enough; I mean, he's a little tense around me, of all people. But Greg just HAD to ruin it all.

Greg.

My frown deepens. It's all his fault. He's the one that broke _my _Jack. If only he just stayed away from Jack. Then he and I would still be dating like a normal, butt-kicking couple, and we'd be living happily ever after.

Then again, if he didn't go after Jack, he would have went after Jack's mom, and that would have broken Jack just as much if she had gotten seriously hurt.

"Kim?"

His gentle voice breaks into my thoughts. The voice that had been crying just twenty minutes ago. The voice that had been trembling in fear upon seeing me for the first time after a month. That amazing voice…

"Kim."

I look up at him this time. His chocolate-brown eyes stare deep into mine, radiating concern.

Concern for me.

Because he's that selfless.

And trusting.

And amazing.

And—

"Kim!"

"Hmm?" as he searches my expression, wanting to figure out the source of my inattentiveness.

I smile. "Yeah. I'm just a bit worried about you." _''A bit' is an understatement.'_

He smiles back. "Kim, I'm fine. I just got a little freaked out."

"Right," I reply bitterly. "A little freaked out has you s-sobbing on the ground." I choke a little on the word 'sobbing.'

Jack Brewer is not supposed to sob.

He's supposed to smirk and be cocky and stare at me with those heart-stopping eyes.

Jack's expression softens and he reaches a hand up, lightly stroking my cheek with his knuckles. "Kim…"

"Awww!" two chorused voices suddenly say. Jack and I look up to see Kiara and the nurse standing in the doorway to the adjoining room.

"I see what you mean now," the nurse says to Kiara. "They _are _adorable! It almost reminds me of my teenage years."

I blush as Jack does the same and lowers his hand.

"Right," the nurse continues, turning to Kiara. Both of them are completely oblivious to our embarrassment. "Your mother might want to look into counseling…"

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I sit down in the bus seat, closing my eyes and resting my head against the slightly cool window.

Finally.

I thought today would never end, what with the whispers, the glares from Tracy's friends, and the sympathetic glances from adults. I'm so glad the day is over.

And this is _without _the whole school knowing about my break-down in the hallway.

"Jack?" Kim asks as she slides into the seat next to me. "You doin' ok?"

"Did I mention how much I hate school?" I ask, avoiding her question.

"Um… no?"

With a small jolt, the bus starts moving out of the parking lot and turning onto the road, beginning the afternoon route.

"Well, I do. A lot. Except for Mrs. Erdman and Mr. Nicoles."

She chuckles lightly. "I agree."

I lift my head and look at her, grinning.

"You're awesome, you know that?" I say to her.

She smirks, fluffing her hair a little bit. "Yes, I am well aware of that fact."

"No, I'm serious," I insist, my smile fading. "I'm… pathetic."

She glances at as she opens her bookbag. "No you're not, Jack. That would have happened to almost anyone who went through the same crap you did."

I sit there and stare at her for a bit as she takes out her math homework (a worksheet on the Pythagorean Theorem), thinking _'What did I do to deserve this amazing girl?'_

After a while she looks up at me. "What?" she asks, tucking a strand of her curly blonde hair behind her ear like she does sometimes when she's feeling self-conscious.

I shake my head to show that nothing's wrong. "Nothing. Just thinking about what I did to deserve you." I stroke her cheek softly with my knuckles.

She blushes a little and smiles shyly. "You did nothing but be your sweet, protective, sexy self," she responds.

I force myself to smirk. That's how my old self would have responded. "Why, thank you. I know I am _very _sexy."

She laughs. "For once you're actually right."

I clutch at my heart in mock hurt. "What do you mean 'for once'? I am wounded by this insult!"

Kim laughs and hits me on the arm lightly. "You know what I mean. You have been wrong plenty of times before."

I raise an eyebrow and let go of my shirt. "Oh really? Name one."

"Ok. You were wrong when you thought that you couldn't beat Kai in China last year." **(2)**

I frown at the memory. "That doesn't really count, I was doubting myself. I wasn't sure of my skills."

"But you were wrong to doubt yourself."

"It still doesn't count."

"Ugh, ok. You were wrong not to accept that scholarship to the Otai Academy." **(3)**

"No." I immediately shoot that one down. "Just... no. There's no way I would have left you guys for four years. There's no way I would have left _you _for four years. I don't think I could have lived without you and Kiara and the guys."

She sighs and then smirks. "Ok then. What about the time that you insisted that the sleeping baby porcupine you found at Falafel Phi's was a stuffed animal?"

I blink. "Ok, that _was _wrong beyond wrong, but in my defense it looked like a stuffed animal."

The smirk remains on her face. "Sure you did. That's why you let Jerry try to pet it."

I can't help but laugh. "Ok, ok, you've made your point."

She laughs as well. "Exactly."

I grab at my heart again in an overly dramatic gesture. "You have proved me wrong about being wrong. I am once again mortally wounded. My love, why do you do this to me?"

She rolls her eyes, slinging her bookbag across her shoulder as the bus starts to pull up in front of the mall. "Whatever. Let's go, lover boy."

"I cannot move, for I am _mortally _wounded. I'm just saying that again in case you missed that part."

She stands up. "If you're so wounded, then you can stay behind and go with Ms. Kelly [bus driver] back to wherever she goes after she finishes the bus route."

I shudder and stand up as well. "Amazing! I have made a miraculous recovery!"

* * *

_Kim's POV_

"If a mime is arrested, does he have the right to to remain silent?" I ask randomly, as the movie that we're watching, _Red_ _Dawn_ **(4)**, ends. The screen goes black, and the credits begin. If anything, I'm just trying to put a little humor into the grim atmosphere that the (awesome) movie had created in the Jack's room. I loosen the death grip that I had on his arm, laughing a little as I hear him let out a small sigh of relief.

"…where did that come from?" he asks, after a moment of thought.

"Just answer the question."

"Uh… I'm not sure. It's not really something that I've ever thought about," he says thoughtfully. "We can ask your mom, if you really want to know."

"Nah, I'm just curious."

I look up at him. He stares back at me. I know that something's off about him. He seems… _sadder_. That's the only way I can describe him. I mean, I'm aware of the fact that he's not going to be completely the same after what happened to him, but I can also tell he's trying really hard to recover.

"Doesn't 'expecting the unexpected' make the unexpected expected?"

I look up at his face as I form the question, hoping to get a smile out of him, but he only looks confused.

"Ok, you kinda lost me there…" he trails off, thinking the inquiry over. "I guess it does. What's with the sudden randomness?"

"I dunno," I lie. "I just saw an awesome yet terrifying movie, and I'm trying to get the deaths out of my head, so..."

He smirks. It seems forced. "I think I can help with that."

I giggle and lean upwards, placing a hand on his cheek and starting a 'five-minute-but-probably-would-have-been-longer-i f-what-happened-next-didn't-happen' makeout session.

"Keep it rated T, kids," I suddenly hear Kiara's voice say. Jack and I break apart and glare at the door, but she's already halfway down the hall and laughing before either of us could say anything in response.

"Well, she just totally ruined that," I murmur. Jack chuckles. Again, it seems forced.

"You're so adorable when you're annoyed."

He is the only one I will ever tolerate calling me 'adorable.'

"I wonder what she's doing…" I muse when I don't hear her come back upstairs.

Jack shrugs, stretching slightly and letting a small yawn slip out as he replies. "Who knows?"

"Tired?"

"Yeah…" Another yawn. "But I wanna stay awake with you."

I gently push myself off of him and scoot over to the corner where the bedhead meets the wall, moving his pillow out of the way so I can sit. I hold out an arm, signaling for him to come over.

He puts his his bedside table and crawls over to me, laying his head in my lap. I tangle my fingers in his soft hair and scratch his scalp gently. He makes a low, drawn-out "mmmm" sound. For once, it doesn't seem fake or forced. I smile as he closes his eyes.

"Like that?"

"Mm-hmm… you realize I'm going to fall asleep if you keep doing that."

"Yes, that's the idea."

He opens his eyes halfway and looks at me, frowning. "But—"

"But nothing. You deserve a rest after the day you've had."

"Nooo…" he whines.

"Yeees…" I say in the same manner. "Don't make me sing to you."

"Oh no," he says in fake horror. "Singing. Anything but that."

"You've been warned." I take a small breath, kind of nervous. I know I don't have to sing to him, but I feel I kind of owe it to myself. I never usually like to sing in front of anyone. Still…

I close my eyes and let myself go.

_"Step one – you say, "We need to talk."  
He walks, you say, "Sit down. It's just a talk."  
He smiles politely back at you,  
You stare politely right on through."_

_Some sort of window to your right,  
As he goes left and you stay right.  
Between the lines of fear and blame,  
And you begin to wonder why you came._

_Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend,  
Somewhere along in the bitterness.  
And I would have stayed up with you all night,  
Had I known how to save a life."_

I stop suddenly, panicked as I open my eyes. I let myself get too into it. He's gonna think I'm horrible. I look down at him, slightly fearful of his reaction. He looks up at me with expectant eyes. When he realizes I'm not continuing, he frowns and grabs my free hand in both of his.

"Hey, don't stop," he says softly. He smiles encouragingly. "That was awesome! Please?"

I stare at him, wondering if he actually means that or if he's just saying it to make me feel better. He stares back at me hopefully. I decide it's the former, and quietly start the next verse.

_"Let him know that you know best,  
'Cause after all you do know best.  
Try to slip past his defense,  
Without granting innocence."_

_"Lay down a list of what is wrong,  
The things you've told him all along.  
Pray to God, he hears you,  
And I pray to God, he hears you._

I bite my lip for a split second, still scratching his had gently. Believe it or not, me singing is actually working; he's falling asleep, though his eyes keep flickering back open as he tries not to. His grip on my hand loosens considerably.

_And where did I go wrong? I lost a friend,  
Somewhere along in the bitterness.  
And I would have stayed up with you all night,  
Had I known how to save a life._

_As he begins to raise his voice,  
You lower yours and grant him one last choice.  
Drive until you lose the road,  
Or break with the ones you've followed._

_He will do one of two things,  
He will admit to everything.  
Or he'll say he's just not the same,  
And you'll begin to wonder why you came."_

Jack's eyes slide closed and stay closed. His head lolls to side gently. I smile faintly, staring at the peaceful expression brought on by sleep.

_"Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

_Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

_How to save a life_

_How to save a life_

_Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

_Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

_How to save a life_

_How to save a life…"_

I trail off as I sing the last line of the song. I suddenly realize that we're not in our pj's. _'Oh well. Who cares?'_

* * *

A unknown amount of time later (probably about twenty minutes) I'm still awake. I sigh in frustration. I can't fall asleep. I don't know why, because I _feel _tired, but the sleep just refuses to come.

_'Maybe walking around a bit will help,' _I think, as I gently lift Jack's head off of my lap and put it on my pillow. He makes a little whining sound, holding on tighter to my hand as I try to start walking away from the bed.

I smile at his unconscious clinginess, prying his hand off of mine and placing it on his stomach. His face looks a bit troubled, like he senses me leaving and is afraid that I won't come back. I make a mental promise to him that I won't be long.

I walk downstairs, cocking my head curiously at the sound of the TV. I turn into the living room peek over the edge of the couch, giggling a little at the sight of Kiara asleep. I look at the TV; she was watching _White Collar_. I go around to the front of the couch. Her arm is hanging off the cushions, and the remote to the TV is still in her limp hand. I grab it and turn off the TV, cutting off Niel's flow of words.

I go into the kitchen and open the fridge, grabbing a water bottle. I know Mrs. Brewer wouldn't mind, since she's always saying that I'm pretty much a second daughter to her. And as her second daughter, I have free liberty over the fridge.

I go back upstairs and into Jack's room, opening the water bottle on the way there. I drink a few gulp from it as I walk over to the bed, and then close it and place it on the bedside table next to Jack's journal.

Jack's journal.

I purse my lips, picking it up and running a hand over the light brown leather. It wouldn't hurt to just take a peek, would it?…

Yes, it would.

I think back to the few times I had violated Jack's trust; looking in on the contents of his flashdrive, reading his little paper thing that had the letter from his dad and the newspaper clipping and the photo, reading the note he found in his locker… it wouldn't be right.

I feel so guilty. So I shouldn't read his journal. That's the one place where he can put his personal thoughts, 'personal' meaning 'for his eyes only.'

But _then _I think back to earlier today; the pained, unguarded look that I saw on his face for a spilt second before he donned a smiling mask to hide it. Don't I wanna be the good girlfriend and find the cause of his anguish so I can get rid of it?

_'Read it!' _a tiny voice says to my left. I look on my shoulder and see a small, mini-version of me. She's wearing a black mini-skirt, red leggings, and a tight red tanktop that reads 'BE EVIL! IT'S FUN!' in black letters. I raise an eyebrow at the red bat wings, red devil eared headband, and a devil tail.

I frown. "Don't you normally have a trident or something?"

_'I broke it,' _she says nonchalantly, shrugging. _'It's getting fixed. Read it! Reveal all his secrets to the school!' _

I hear another voice on my other shoulder. _'No! Don't!'_

I look on my other shoulder and see another and see another version of me in white skinny jeans and a white form-fitting shirt that has golden swirly designs on it. She has the telltale angel wings, but she's missing…

"Where's the halo?"

_'Someone,' _she says, glaring at the devil on my other shoulder, _'broke it while using it as a baseball target and, in the process, broke her trident as well.' _

"Ok…"

_'Anyway, don't! That's violating his trust! You've already done that enough already!' _

_'Who cares about trust? Just do it!'_

_'Ugh, would you just be quiet!' _Angel says, rounding on her devilish counterpart. _'Haven't you done enough damage already?!'_

_'Doing damage is my job, goody-goody,' _Devil says, rolling her eyes.

_'What did you call me?!'_

_'You heard me.'_

_'Oh that is it!' _

Angel flies over to my other shoudlder and pounces on Devil, making her fall. Devil screams in suprise and claws at the white-clad girl above her, fighting back.

I blink in surprise at how fast that escalated into… this. The two of them pop out of exstence leaving me baffled.

_'My subconscious is a strange one,' _I think. I sigh and decide to open the notebook, flipping to the most recent page.

_Thursday, April 17th, 5:39_

_'Ok, I didn't write in this thing yesterday, so I guess I gotta make it. _

_I went to school today._

_I got a note from one of Tracy's friends that said something about how Tracy's death was my fault and that I'm a 'SICK MONSTER.'_

_I had a panic attack._

_End of story._

Thinking back on his suffering makes me want to cry. I quickly move on.

_Yesterday was Tracy's funeral. Her mother blamed me for her death. I guess it is my fault, when I think about it. But I've got to get over her death. I can't let it haunt me for the rest of my life.' _

I'm not sure whether to be proud of the fact that he's not dwelling over her death, or sad that he thinks it's his fault.

_'Yesterday was also Greg's court trial. Kiara and Mom tricked me into going to it, which was pretty smart now that I think about it because I never would have gone willingly. I had to see him again. _

_I'm terrified of that man. _

_He… said… oh, God, I don't want to write this. But I feel like I owe it to Mom. _

_Ok. I can do this._

**_(This part of Jack's journal has been censored. Sowwie. But the fact that it's censored kind of gives you an idea of how bad it is, so…)_**

I drop the journal in shock and disgust. My hatred for Gregory Griffith has just increased tenfold.

I pick up the book and close it back, placing it on the table. I climb back onto the bed and scoot close to Jack. The movement wakes him up and he opens his eyes, looking around for a few seconds before his eyes land on me.

"Where'd you go?" he asks sleepily, turning on his side and facing me.

"Went to go get some water," I mumble. He stares at me for a few moments, before placing a hand on the small of my back and pulling me close. I grab his other hand in mine and squeeze it gently. He squeezes back, gazing at our entwined fingers.

"You realize I would have told you if you wanted to know that bad, right?" he asks quietly. I'm confused for a few moments before I realize:

He knows I read his journal.

I mentally groan. I probably woke him up when I dropped it. "I'm sorry, I—"

" 's ok," he says, cutting me off. "Just… ask next time. Please?"

I smile, glad he's not mad at me. "Ok."

He doesn't smile back, instead just staring at me sleepily, somehow focused enough to freak me out a little. He takes his hand off my back and cups my cheek. I close my eyes, loving the feeling of his warm palm on my cheeek.

When he kisses me, I gently untangle his fingers from mine and push on his shoulder so that he rolls onto his back, and I roll as well so that I'm pretty much lying on top of him. He deepens the kiss, moving his mouth slowly against mine as his hands lightly grip my hips.

Something is different, though. I'm not sure what, but… I don't know. I can't place it. I pull away and open my eyes, shocked when I find that a tear has made its way down his cheek.

"Jack?"

He keeps his eyes closed as he takes a slow, deep breath. "He's in my head, Kim. I… I can't get him out."

I have no idea how to respond to that. How do I comfort him? I bite my lip for a split second, before leaning down and kissing him again. He responds earnestly, almost desperately, tightening his grip on my hips as if he's afraid that I'm going to leave him.

When we part again, I roll off of him and stare at him. He turns onto his side so that he's facing me but he avoids my gaze, choosing instead to play with my fingers. I grab his hands, not exactly restraining them, but keeping them still all the same. He smiles faintly and directs his gaze upwards so that we're both staring into each other eyes.

"And I said 'Hey, there, pretty brown eyes,'" he murmurs while he strokes my cheek with the pad of his thumb. I giggle at the quoting of Cody Simpson's _Pretty Brown Eyes, _and he freezes.

"I said that aloud, didn't I?"

"Yup."

Later, when we're both asleep, Mrs. Anserson is heard humming _How To Save A Life _to herself.

* * *

**(1) _Girl vs. Monster _reference. That movie was awesome.**

**(2) Season 1, Episode 19, _Kickin' It in China _reference**

**(3) Season 2, Episode 14, _Hit the Road, Jack _reference**

**(4) I'd like to thank _konerbrandon _for... introducing me, I guess you could say, to this movie. I was watching TV and the guide said that _Red Dawn _was coming on after the show I was watching was finished, and I was like, "Hey, I recognize that name" (at the time I couldn't remember where I heard it from) so I watched it and IT WAS FLIPPIN' EPIC ****(the 2012 version. I've never seen the original.). YOU GUYS HAVE TO SEE IT.**

**So yeah! Ok, so, who thought _Two Dates and a Funeral _was as awesome and adorable as I did? My favorite part(s) are when a) Jack told Kim that Albert bidded for him and b) when Kim gave Jack the braclet. The fluffiness is overwhelming! XD**

**Please review you guys! It means a lot to me.**

**Until next time,**

**~BP**


	14. Wrap It Up

**Hello, people! I'm sorry to say this is the last chapter of Needing Them. *sadness* But I seriously have no idea why I should continue. I mean, Jack's been found, and we know he's recovering, so****… yeah. No need to worry though! There are plenty of fics in the making! A few things that you peoples should know:**

**I went through and changed 'Anderson' to 'Brewer.'**

**Cory Monteith passed away on July 13th (MY 13th BIRTHDAY! WHYYYY!), about two weeks ago. He was most known for his role as Finn Hudson on Glee. He died of a lethal overdose of heroin and alcohol. Even though I've only ever seen two episodes of Glee (the first one and the one where Blaine goes to McKinley) I do know that he was loved by many and will be missed by many. My condolences to his friends and family.**

**And finally, I want to thank everyone that reviewed this fic (guest reviewers in italics):**

_Alyssa_

_Anonymous person_

AnAross3000

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_Crazily Kickin_

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_DISNEY_

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_Guest_

Hgirl loves you

inkling13

KarateGirl77

_Kickforeva_

_Kickin' It 4eva_

_Kickinit_

_Kickinittomboy48_

_KImjaCKKICK_

Learn to Love-13

NoneOfYourBuisness 0000

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_peacecookies_

Randomgirl111111

sad-beautiful-tragic

_Sapphire_

Sky- XD

SkylarXP

Spot an Appaloosa

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_Teran34_

TheWildRosie

Wipe your eyes

_XP bloop_

**^/v/^ Thanks to all you guys! It means a lot. I know there are people that didn't review too, and I wish you did review so I would know you're there, but thanks to you people, too.**

**Disclaimer: **Rawr! No! I'm kidding, I love you peoples! ^=v=^ (I'm a kitty!)

* * *

_Kim's __POV_

I sigh as I place my elbow on the desk, resting my cheek on my hand. I'm in my last class of the day, Art, with Eddie. This is my favorite class normally, but I can't stop thinking about Jack. He left for a doctor's appointment in Chemistry last period. I can't help but worry, even though I know he should be perfectly fine.

"Kim?"

Eddie's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I look over at him, briefly glancing down at what he made with his clay; it's a very elaborate doughnut, and he's rolling little pieces for the sprinkles right now. It's another free day today, and we have leftover clay from the Indian masks that we made a few days ago. Ms. Wisson let us do whatever we want with the extra, as long as it isn't anything inappropriate or dangerous.

"Hmm?"

"Are you still worried about Jack?" he asks.

I laugh a little nervously. "What makes you say that?"

"Well… you made your clay into his face."

I blink and look down, dropping the plastic carving tool **(1) **in my hand in shock. A half-finished bust of Jack's face with a frown on it stares blankly at nothing. It actually looks pretty good, and the fact that I was hardly even paying attention to it makes it even more astonishing.

"Huh. That's weird," I say, gently picking it up and examining it. It doesn't have any eyes, but the hair looks convincing, though, what with the thinner-than-a-needle lines showing the detail and following the rise and fall of his soft locks. I've also already gotten his two little mole/freckle things and his not-quite-finished eyebrows are furrowed, showing the beginnings of what looked like a scared or concerned expression.

"Weird? Dude, you just did that without paying attention to it."

I sigh, grabbing a rolling pin and smashing the little bust with one, well-aimed swing. Eddie frowns.

"What'd ya do that for?"

"To convince myself that Jack is fine. And, that thing was a little creepy."

He chuckles and goes back to rolling sprinkles for his doughnut. I stare at the lump of clay on the table in front of my, pondering what to make.

**Later…**

"Is that for Jack?" Ms. Wisson asks softly as I put my clay piece into the firing oven. I pause, smiling lightly at the 'broken' heart with a band-aid depicted covering a crack.

"Yeah, I guess," I reply.

"He's going to be fine, you know," she says. I look up at her. Jack isn't in any of her classes, but she knows him from the times that his Creative Writing class let out early and he had come and waited for me here. "He's a strong-willed boy."

I smile, standing up from my couched position next to the oven. "I know, I'm just… worried."

She chuckles. "He's going to a doctor's appointment, child. What could possibly happen?"

I feel a little ridiculous now that I think about it. "Hnn… Oh, you're right. I'm just fretting over nothing. I bet he's fine."

"That's the spirit! Now just keep up that pretty smile and we'll be ok."

I walk out of the room a few minutes later feeling a bit lighter on my feet.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

_Friday, April 18th, 3:32 P.M._

_'Yeah, so I went to a doctor's appointment today about my apparent 'PTSD' and he said I should be fine as long as I'm able to express myself in this thing so… yay?_

_'I hope Kim comes over today. I mean, I know she has a family, too, but whenever's she's around I feel like… like I'm on top of the world. Like I can do anything. Like I can beat anything. _

_'Huh. It's actually kind of weird. I love her so much. And yet, I don't think I can completely trust her yet. I know I should be able to, because she's my best friend, but… I dunno. I hate Greg for doing this to me. He deserves worse than jail._

_'I can't help but think that some of the things that he said were true; am I really worthless? I mean, I don't think there's any way to really tell if anyone actually cares about me… ugh. This negativity is really messing with my head. It's making me tired…'_

I put the leather book and pen on the table next to my bed. I move backwards and lean against the headboard, with one leg drawn up to me and the other stretched out, lounging in my favorite position.

I stare blankly at the wall in front of me, letting my thoughts wander.

_'It's over__… right?' _

I frown. That's what I thought last time. And now look.

Well, both brothers are in jail, right?

Unless there's some psychotic cousin that I don't know about?_…_

_…_

I think Kim should be out of school by now. I grab my phone and glance at the time; 4:09. She should be on the bus by now.

I think about what she could be doing; maybe working on her homework, or chatting with Kiara. I picture her laughing at something my twin said, her grinning face lighting up the whole bus.

I smile at the image my brain conjured up. If I could keep this picture in my head forever, I think I'd be perfectly content.

I look down at the time again; 4:19. I blink in surprise just as the nineteen changes into a twenty. I just spent ten minutes smiling at a mental picture. Ok_…_

I scowl at the thought that anyone could take that away from me, take _Kim _away from me. If anyone dare harm a hair on her beautiful blond head I will personally rip them limb from limb. I smirk at the little cartoon in my head of me ripping Ty's arm off and beating him over the head with it.

Oh, yeah, that would be satisfying.

I stretch both my legs out and lie down, with my gaze flicking over my dad's guitar as I rest my head on the pillow. I blink and fix my gaze on it. It's leaning against the wall, having been there since the police returned it to me (The one I won at the carnival is on a stand on the other side of my room.). I haven't bothered to put it back into its special place in the back of my closet yet. The last time I remember picking it up is_…_

I frown. Bad memory. Think about something pleasant.

Kim.

That puts the smile back on my face as I get up and go grab the musical instrument. I sit back down on my bed and place the guitar on my leg, tuning it a bit before strumming a few chords. Mom is asleep, so I can play on my own without worrying how I sound for a while_…_

My stomach chooses that moment to rumble loudly, reminding me that I haven't eaten at all today, due to the fact that I had skipped breakfast and have not yet eaten lunch. I roll my eyes and put my guitar on my bed, stroking the neck fondly before exiting my room and going downstairs.

_'I haven't made pizza in a while,' _I muse, before frowning. _'But that might take a while__…' _

I go through the different possibilities of what I could make in my head, before finally settling on a simple salad. After preparing it and grabbing a fork, I start to go upstairs again, before I remember that I can't play a guitar and eat at the same time. So, I walk over to the couch and sit down on it.

I look around for the remote and, not seeing anywhere, get up and turn on the TV by hand. I've already sat down and gotten comfortable again before I realize that it's on Disney Channel. Feeling too lazy to get up and look for the remote or change the channel by hand, I choose to just watch whatever is on; right now, it's a promo for a new _Shake It Up! _episode.

_"On an all new _Shake It Up!_—"__  
_

I stab a fork into my salad, bringing the forkful up to my mouth.

_"— CeCe messes up big time__—" _

I chew on the vegetables softly, looking up at the TV again.

_"__— __and Rocky dances into a mess of her own—"_

I choke on the leaves in my mouth as a guy that just happens to look EXACTLY like me makes a deal with Rocky, something about dancing.

Eddie's mom makes him watch _Shake It Up! _sometimes just in case he decides to go into dancing ("Which I NEVER will," he claims), so he could maybe "pick up some of their moves." He mentioned something about a guy named Logan that looks kinda like me.

'Kinda' is an understatement.

I manage to swallow the salad in my mouth, but that only results in the coughs wracking my body to become even more violent. I think I hear the faint sound of a door opening and closing, but I'm not really sure. A few seconds later, I feel a weight on the couch next to me, and something being pressed to my lips. I take the glass cup gratefully and gulp down the cool water.

"Thanks," I gasp after I finish the water. I take a deep breath.

"You're welcome," Kiara replies, amusement obvious her voice.

"You ok?" I hear Kim's voice ask from my other side.

I look at her and smile. "Yeah, I just saw something that_… _surprised me."

"Why do I feel like it was the promo for the new _Shake It Up! _episode?" Kiara quips. I glare at her as I notice that she had grabbed another fork from the kitchen and is now eating my salad.

"Because of your annoying Kiara senses," I respond, grabbing my bowl of salad back from her and rolling my eyes at her faux sadness. "Oh, quit your pouting, it was mine anyway."

"New _Shake It Up! _episode?" Kim deadpanns, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Rocky apparently teaches this guy to dance in exchange for him trying to get along with CeCe," I answer, glancing nervously at the TV. The screen innocently displays the happy characters of _Gravity Falls_. "I think he was the Logan guy that Eddie told me about_…_"

"Here," Kiara says, handing her tablet to Kim. Not sure when she got it out, but I'm not really surprised because of her status as a 'techie.'

"Holy crap!" Kim exclaims, her eyes widening. She looks up at me, then back at the tablet, then back at me again. "You two look exactly the same! Well, the hair is a bit different, but still!"

"I know_…_" I agree, staring at the picture for a little while longer. "Really weird."

"They say everyone has a double," Kiara murmurs, reaching over with her fork and spearing two leaves onto the tines. I frown at her but I don't pull away.

"Apparently mine is an actor," I say, finding that strangely ironic for some reason I can't explain.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, with the TV buzzing in the background but no one paying attention to it.

"I'm bored!" Kiara suddenly announces. She stands up abruptly and, taking advantage of our surprise, swipes my salad and runs towards the stairs with it.

"Wha— Hey!" I sputter indignantly, but she's already halfway up the stairs. I sigh in defeat when I hear the door to her bedroom slam shut.

"It took me a good five minutes to make that salad," I grumble.

Kim laughs. "Get over it and make another one, ya big baby."

I sigh and follow her advice, heading towards the kitchen to make myself another salad. "You want one?"

She shrugs. "Sure."

Ten minutes later, Kim and I are both heading upstairs with bowl of salad. Kim kicks open the door to my bedroom, and I realize too late that I left my guitar on my bed.

"Were you playing your guitar before?" she asks curiously, walking over to it and lightly running her fingers over the body. I feel a strange surge of possessiveness well up within me as she touches it, but I smother it before I can snap at her.

"It's_…_" I trail off, hesitating. "It's my dad's."

She looks up at me, seeming a bit guilty. She thought it was mine because she caught me playing one day when she came over; I was alone in the house and I left the door unlocked, and she came into my room without me noticing. "Oh, I_…_ I'm sorry."

I put on a smile and walk over to my bed, sitting down on it next to the guitar and beckoning for her to sit next to me. She does.

We sit there in silence for a while, eating our salads. I lose myself in my thoughts, getting brought back to reality by the tapping of my fork against the bottom of the plastic bowl. I look down and frown when I see it's empty.

Kim laughs. "I was wondering when you'd notice."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, because it would have been so hard to tell me."

"It was fun to watch you." She gazes right at me with her beautiful eyes, and for a split second I'm convinced that she's trying and succeeding to read my thoughts.

I break eye contact, feeling slightly put off as I put my fork in my bowl and place the bowl on the ground.

"Will you play it?" she suddenly blurts. My head snaps up as I look at her, and she covers her hand with her mouth. The charm bracelet that I got her clinks gently at the sudden movement.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to," she rambles, displaying her nervousness through speech. "It was stupid and insensitive of me to ask you that, I shouldn't have even said anything—"

"Okay," I interrupt quietly.

She stops. "What?"

"Okay_…_ I'll play for you."

"No, no, no, you don't have to—"

"I want to."

She stares at me with wide eyes. "Jack_…_"

I lift the guitar and place it on my lap, closing my eyes and letting years of memories from me playing with my dad wash over me; the first time I held a guitar_…_ him laughing as he comes home and catches me trying to practice on his_…_ he and I playing together_…_

I take a deep breath and let it out through my mouth, and start playing. I stare down at my hands playing the guitar to avoid looking at her face. I know she won't recognize the song, because Dad wrote it for Mom in college. Sadly, I don't think that Kiara would either.

_'Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it,  
I tried to be chill, but you're so hot that I melted  
I fell right through the cracks  
Now I'm trying to get back__…'_

I can't help think the lyrics along in my head, but I will not under any circumstances sing it aloud; heck, the last time I even _played_ this song was the day before Dad had to leave to go fight. I don't even know why I'm playing it for Kim right now. But I am. So_…_

___'Before the cool done run out I'll be giving it my bestest,_  
_And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention._  
_I reckon it's again my turn,  
____To win some or learn some.'____  
_

The only people that have ever heard my singing are Kiara and Mom. _'And Greg,' _a little nagging voice at the back of my head says. _'You know, from when he snuck up behind you__…_'

I hear myself play a wrong note, but I don't try to recover. The memory of Greg's leering face taunts me; _"They don't care about you anyway!__…_"

"Jack?"

I blink, turning my head towards her. My brain registers Kim's hand on my arm, and I take comfort in her touch.

"Hey, I told you that you didn't have to do this. If you only feel comfortable playing in front of your family, I totally get that."

I shake my head. "No, I just… had sort of a flashback. I'm fine."

"A flashback." She raises an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

"No."

She rolls her eyes. "Hmm, I wonder why I don't believe you."

I chuckle and start playing again. She bites her lip, but doesn't stop me. I pass the part I messed up at and smile at her, as if to say _'See? I'm perfectly fine!'_

_'Well, open up your mind and see like me.  
Open up your plans and damn you're free.  
Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love, love._

_Listen to the music of the moment people, dance and sing.  
We're just one big family.  
And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved,'_

At some point, she had removed her hand from my arm, and I had gone back to staring at my hands as they move over the strings.

_'So I won't hesitate no more, no more.  
It cannot wait, I'm sure.  
There's no need to complicate, our time is short.  
This is our fate, I'm yours._

_D-d-do do you, but do you, d-d-do,  
But do you want to come on?  
Scooch on over closer dear,  
And I will nibble your ear._

_Woah, woah'_

I remember when I was younger, and Dad used to play this song for Mom all the time. He'd sing (even though he doesn't really have the best singing voice) as well, sometimes changing up the lyrics a little bit to make it funnier or sillier.

_'I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror,  
__And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer.  
__But my breath fogged up the glass,  
And so I drew a new face and I laughed._

_I guess what I be saying is there ain't no better reason,  
To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons,  
It's what we aim to do, our name is our virtue._

_But I won't hesitate no more,  
No more, it cannot wait,  
I'm yours.'_

Maybe I haven't played this song because I'm afraid that Mom would overhear and get emotional. I hate seeing her cry, especially if I'm the cause of it. She was crying the day she came and met me at the station; I'll never forget that. At the time I was terrified of everyone around me, so she didn't expect me to flinch away from her touch, which made it even worse.

_'Come on and open up your mind and see like me.  
Open up your plans and damn you're free.  
Look into your heart and you'll find that,  
__The sky is yours.'_

As of this moment, I resolve not to let the thought of Greg (or even Ty) bother me anymore. If I let it freak me out, then he wins. I can't let that happen. For my sake. For my family's sake. For my friends' sake.

For Kim's sake.

_'So please don't, please don't, please don't,  
There's no need to complicate,  
'Cause our time is short.'_

Our time _is _short. Life doesn't last forever. I have to enjoy it while it lasts. And that means letting everyone back in. I mean, I know it seems like I've been recovering, but really I think I've mentally been holding them all at arm's length. But not anymore.

_'This is, this is, this is our fate.  
I'm yours…'_

"That was amazing," Kim whispers as I strum the final chords. I look up at her and smile softly, about to reply when I hear a sniffle.

My head turns to the doorway to see my mom standing there, with one hand over her mouth, the other resting against the doorframe, and tears silently streaming down her face. My smile fades as I put the guitar off to the side and stand up.

"Mom?" I ask, worried. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I thought it was okay since she was asleep but she _obviously _isn't asleep since she's standing in the doorway. I cross the room in quick strides. "Mom, I'm so sorry, I—"

"My darling little black belt!" she exclaims, hugging me to her. The usual flicker of annoyance at the nickname doesn't even appear in my surprise at the sudden gesture. She puts a hand on the back of my head, combing her fingers through my hair.

"I miss your father, too, we all miss him. I know you don't really like to talk about your feelings or anything like that but I'm here if you need someone to talk to, alright?" She pulls away from me and puts one hand on my shoulder and the other on my cheek, stroking it with her thumb and smiling sadly at me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," I respond, still worried.

She beams. "No, no, it's just___…_ I never thought I'd hear that song again…"

"I never played it 'cuz I thought it'd make you upset."

"No, you can play it all you want! I'll even sing with you if you want me to!"

"Um___… _okay?"___  
_

She hugs me again, and she must have noticed Kim behind me at that moment because she releases me and stares at her. "Oh! Kim!___…_ "

I turn around and see Kim laugh nervously. "Hello, Mrs. Brewer."

"I didn't realize you were here…" I imagine how awkward the past couple of minutes must have been for Kim, what with her sitting there not able to make a respectful exit (which is what she most likely would have done) due to the fact that Mom and I were standing in the doorway. "I'll leave you two alone now."

She leaves the room, and, if I didn't know any better, I would swear she just smirked.

"So…" I run a hand through my hair in mild nervousness. As Milton would say: awkward…

"Yeah…" Kim says in response. After a moment of hesitation, I slowly walk over to the bed and sit down next to her, mindful of my dad's guitar.

"I… Yeah, um…" I have no idea what to say, staring down at my hands as I fiddle with my fingers. "That was sort of a personal song…"

"Then why did you play it? I bet you know a ton of songs, and yet you chose that one."

"I dunno…" I look up at her, smiling shyly. "You're really special to me, Kim. And even though we're… actually, I don't even know what we are right now."

I gently grab her hands in mine, my voice lowering to a whisper. "Even though we're in a weird place right now, maybe it's a sign or something… from my dad…" I finally make eye contact with her, noticing that she had leaned closer. "Like he whispered in my ear… to fully trust you…"

"You didn't trust me?" she asks quietly, sounding hurt.

"I didn't completely trust _anyone_," I confess. I let our foreheads rest against each other, and my lips ghost over hers as I speak. "But that changes—"

"Now," she interrupts gently, pushing her lips against mine. The kiss is short and sweet, and has us both smiling when we part.

I have no idea where my mild trust issue came from. I mean, it's not like I ever trusted Ty or Greg in the first place. Kiara problem with trust has a much better reason behind it, but me? Nope. I have no clue. But I'm gonna work on it, and I know everyone that I hold dear to me is going to help with that.

I'm always going to need them anyways.

* * *

**(1) I have no idea what those are called. **

**Yay! Crappy ending to an awesome story! Woo! ****There are more things coming, don't you worry! I love you guys!**

**Except for Volk. -.- I just respect our presence. Oh, did I leave your name out in the list earlier? Sorry.**

**Until next time, **

**~BP**


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